Reprogramming tumour-associated macrophages in epithelial tumours

About the Project

Lead supervisor:Dr Vicki Jennings

Co-supervisors:Prof Will Brackenbury

The student will be registered with the Department of Biology

Project Overview

Cancer immunotherapies activate the immune system to eliminate cancer cells, and have revolutionised treatment for several cancers, offering the potential of long-lasting anti-tumour immunity. Unfortunately, not all cancers respond to current immunotherapeutic agents. As cancer immunotherapies have the potential to generate long-lasting cancer remissions, developing approaches to enhance their efficacy is essential.

The immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment is a major obstacle for effective cancer immunotherapies. Tumour associated macrophages (TAMs) are one of the most abundant immune cells present in the tumour microenvironment and play a critical role in generating and maintaining an immunosuppressive niche. Macrophages, however, are an extremely versatile population of cells that can switch their function from immunosuppressive (pro-tumour) to an immune-stimulatory (anti-tumour) phenotype. While pro-tumour TAMs promote tumour growth and drug resistance and turn off ‘killer’ immune cells, anti-tumour TAMs promote the destruction of tumour cells by releasing cytotoxic molecules, ‘eating’ the tumour cell (phagocytosis) and by activating ‘killer’ immune cells. Developing therapies that can switch pro-tumour TAMs to anti-tumour TAMs has the potential to reduce tumour growth and improve the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapies offering more effective and kinder treatments for cancer patients. My lab has developed various human in vitro systems to model the human immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment this project will use these models to:

(i) Identify novel pathways to effectively reprogram TAMs towards an anti-tumour phenotype.

(ii) Develop therapeutic interventions to target TAMs.

(iii) Measure the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions to induce anti-tumour T cell responses.

Techniques and Skills Training

You will develop advanced skills in studying TAMs, dissecting mechanisms of T-cell priming, and applying cutting-edge immunology and molecular biology techniques. You will learn various cell culture techniques, including isolation and culture of immune cells, generation of 3D multicellular models, and patient-derived models. You will perform immune-based assays to measure the induction of anti-tumour immunity, including T-cell priming and T-cell: TAM suppression assays, and you will become proficient in flow cytometry through advanced immune-cell profiling. You will be expected to work collaboratively within the team, communicate effectively, and present your research progress regularly at lab meetings.

The project may be adapted to fit to a 1-year MSc by Research degree

The University of York is committed to recruiting future scientists regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation or career pathway to date. We understand that commitment and excellence can be shown in many ways and we have built our recruitment process to reflect this. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, particularly those underrepresented in science, who have curiosity, creativity and a drive to learn new skills.

The Department of Biology holds an Athena SWAN Gold Award. We are committed to supporting equality and diversity and strive to provide a positive working environment for all staff and students.

Entry Requirements: Students with, or expecting to gain, at least an upper second class honours degree, or equivalent, are invited to apply. The interdisciplinary nature of this programme means that we welcome applications from students with any biological, chemical, and/or physical science backgrounds.

Programme: PhD in Biomedical Science (3 year)

Start Date: 21 September 2026