Rate My Professor Abhishek Garg

Abhishek D. Garg is a Research Associate Professor (BOF-ZAP mandate) in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at KU Leuven Faculty of Medicine, serving as assistant professor since October 2018 and group leader of the Cell Stress & Immunity (CSI) Lab since February 2020. His postdoctoral research from 2012 to 2018 at KU Leuven focused on immunogenic cell death mechanisms in cancer, including links between endoplasmic reticulum stress, autophagy, apoptosis, necroptosis, and damage-associated molecular patterns, with research visits to the University of Helsinki in 2013 and De Duve Institute from 2017 to 2018. Garg holds a PhD in Biomedical Sciences (Cancer) from KU Leuven (2012), an M.Sc. in Biosciences (Human Genetics) from the University of Leeds (2008), a B.Sc. in Biotechnology from Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, India (2007), and a Diploma in Bioinformatics from the Bioinformatics Institute of India (2007).

Garg's research centers on cancer immunology and immunotherapy, pioneering discoveries in immunogenic cell death (ICD), next-generation dendritic cell-based vaccines, alternative dysfunctional CD8+ T cell states, spatial and molecular determinants of cancer patient responses to immunotherapy, novel HLA-based biomarkers, and immuno-resistant tumor-associated macrophages. Employing reverse translational approaches with multi-omics, spatial tumor mapping, computational immunology, bioinformatics, and AI, his work develops high-precision biomarkers and personalized immunotherapies for hard-to-treat tumors. With over 130 publications, exceeding 30,000 citations, and an h-index above 60, he ranks among the top 1-2% most highly cited researchers worldwide. Key publications include 'Immunogenic cell death and DAMPs in cancer therapy' (Nature Reviews Cancer, 2012), 'Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)' (Autophagy, 2021), 'Molecular mechanisms of cell death: recommendations of the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death 2018' (Cell Death & Differentiation, 2018), 'A spatial architecture-embedding HLA signature to predict clinical response to immunotherapy in renal cell carcinoma' (Nature Medicine, 2024), and 'Targeting conserved TIM3+VISTA+ tumor-associated macrophages overcomes resistance to cancer immunotherapy' (Science Advances, 2024). Awards include the AstraZeneca Foundation Award for Biomedical Scientific Research (2025), India-UK Achievers Honour (2026), 41st Prix Galien Award (2023), KU Leuven Research Council Award (2016), FWO Postdoc Fellowship (2013-2018), and EMBO Short-Term Fellowship (2013). He contributes to the KU Leuven Cancer Institute, Leuven.AI, and editorial roles.