معرفی
Dhifaf Sarhan is a Senior Lecturer and Docent (Associate Professor) at Karolinska Institutet, where she serves as Group Leader at the Department of Laboratory Medicine Huddinge (LABMED)/Division of Pathology and as Division Head. She was recruited to the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology as Assistant Professor in Tumor Immunology/Immunotherapy in 2019 and became group leader at LABMED/Division of Pathology in 2021. Her research focuses on deciphering immune interactions and responses in solid tumors, with particular emphasis on natural killer (NK) cells and the tumor microenvironment.
Dr. Sarhan's educational background includes:
- PhD in Medical Sciences, Karolinska Institutet (2010-2014)
- M.S. in Biomedicine, Karolinska Institutet (2008-2010)
- B.S. in Molecular Biology, Uppsala University (2005-2008)
Her primary research interests center on tumor immunology and cancer immunotherapy, with specific focus on adaptive natural killer (NK) cells and their role in cancer. Dr. Sarhan's work explores how the tumor microenvironment shapes immune effector cell function and memory, with particular attention to sex-dependent differences in immune responses. Her research aims to remodel the tumor microenvironment to improve cancer immunotherapies, especially through understanding the mechanisms behind NK cell memory and the crosstalk with antigen-presenting cells like dendritic cells and B cells in cancer.
Analysis of Dr. Sarhan's recent publications reveals a consistent focus on adaptive NK cells and their therapeutic potential in solid tumors. Her work spans ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, and melanoma, with particular emphasis on how sex differences affect immune responses in the tumor microenvironment. A significant portion of her recent research investigates the molecular mechanisms behind NK cell memory and how these cells can resist tumor suppression mechanisms. Her publications also highlight the importance of FPR2 receptor in shaping the pancreatic tumor microenvironment in a sex-dependent manner.
Dr. Sarhan has received numerous scientific awards and recognition for her work:
- Junior Investigator Award, Swedish Cancer Society
- Jonas Söderquist's scholarship
- Selected for 3-years CANCER CORE EUROPE advanced training program TRYTRAC in translational/clinical research and leadership
- World Immunotherapy Council, Young Investigator Award
- Best abstract, Cancer immunotherapy and immunomonitoring (CITIM)
- Pancreatic cancer fellow, Swedish Cancer Society
- Postdoctoral fellowship, Karolinska Institutet and University of Minnesota
- Award for research project, ImmunoTools
- Scholarship, Swedish Order of Freemasons
Dr. Sarhan has successfully secured significant research funding from multiple sources, including Centrum for Innovative Medicine, Swedish Cancer Society, Radiumhemmetsforsknings fonder, Stiftelsen Clas Groschinsky Minnesfonds, KI Stiftelser och Fonder, Stiftelsen Sigurd and Elsa Goljes Minne, and The Sjöberg foundation. Her current research projects focus on studying sex immune dimorphism in the tumor microenvironment, the therapeutic potential of adaptive NK cells in solid tumors, and targeting FPR2 as a novel approach for immunotherapy in pancreatic cancer female patients. She teaches immunology and tumor immunology at Karolinska Institutet and Uppsala University, contributing to the Medicine program, Biomedical science program, Biomedical laboratory science, and doctoral education.
As Group Leader at the Division of Pathology, Dr. Sarhan heads a research team focused on two main research lines: 1) Adaptive NK cell immunological memory in cancer, investigating the molecular mechanisms behind NK cell memory to tumors and the crosstalk with antigen-presenting cells; and 2) Studies of sex immune dimorphism in the tumor microenvironment, examining how sex differences affect immune responses in cancer, particularly in pancreatic cancer where she has identified a G-protein coupled receptor with predictive value for female cancer patients.
