Rate My Professor Alex McLellan

Professor Alex McLellan is an immunologist and Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Otago, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences. He earned a BSc and MSc from the University of Canterbury and a PhD from the University of Otago. Joining the university in 2003, he managed the Flow Cytometry Facility from 2004 to 2012. Currently, he chairs the Bioimager Acquisition Committee, served nine years on the Animal Ethics Committee, and acts as Divisional Course Approver. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in immunology, medicine, medical laboratory science, microbiology, and pharmaceutical sciences.

McLellan's research centers on cancer immunobiology, developing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells and CAR NK cells for solid tumors and B cell malignancies. His laboratory builds high-efficiency lentiviral, retroviral, and transposon-based gene transfer systems; designs genetic controls like inducible promoters and bi-directional CAR constructs; and optimizes CAR NK cell expansion protocols. Key projects target the tumor microenvironment, mitigate cytokine storms, and enhance T cell migration via cytokines and chemokines. Collaborations include the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Australia and the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. He received the University of Otago 2017 Proof of Concept competition award for safer cancer immunotherapy and a 2008 Early Career Research Award. Select publications are 'Auto-inducible expression of chimeric antigen receptor T cells using the NR4A1 promoter' (2026, Immunology & Cell Biology), 'Impact of rheumatoid factors on the function of therapeutic monoclonals specific for PD-1/PD-L1' (2025, Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy), 'Enhancement of anti-sarcoma immunity by NK cells engineered with mRNA for expression of a EphA2-targeted CAR' (2025, Clinical & Translational Medicine), and 'Conversion of anti-tissue factor antibody sequences to chimeric antigen receptor and bi-specific T-cell engager format' (2024, Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy). His work advances pre-clinical cancer immunotherapy strategies.