Abhimanyu Gowda

I am a DPhil student in the Vyas Laboratory, additionally supervised by Ricardo Fernandes (Nuffield Department of Medicine, China-Oxford Institute). 

Previously I graduated with a first-class degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge (Christ's College). I focused my study on Molecular and Cellular Pathology, working with Prof. Ming Du to explore the mutational profile of B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders such as IPSID and primary cold agglutinin disease. I have also worked with Saar Gill (University of Pennsylvania), where I assisted with investigation into the use of CRISPR base-editing in enabling new immunotherapies. 

My current work focuses on profiling the molecular basis for the allograft effect against minor histocompatibility antigens in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). I am interested in understanding how specific pMHC-TCR interactions lead to potent recognition of GvL antigens and subsequent rejection of AML tissue by donor T-cells. To do this, I am utilising protein engineering and molecular biology techniques to probe the biophysical interaction between peptide, HLA, and TCR alleles identified to be of interest from studies in AML patients.

I am also interested in how such sequence and structural properties of the pMHC-TCR axis can drive certain T-cell subsets to adopt a persistent, cytotoxic fate that is associated with excellent responses in patients receiving transplant or T-cell therapies. I will be exploring how such concepts can be applied more generally to cancer immunology approaches, including in the context of solid and epithelial malignancies.