Adam Bates

Biography

Before joining the Dong group, I completed my BSc in Biomedical Sciences with a Year in Industry at the University of York, obtaining First-Class Honours with Distinction. For my final-year project, I was involved with investigating the potential role of RNA methylation in the upregulation of PD-L1 as part of the Lagos group. I spent a year working in GlaxoSmithKline's BioPharm Discovery department where I investigated next-generation bispecific antibody formats with potential oncological applications and published my first paper (albeit a review).

Research interests

My research in the Dong group is focused on characterising and understanding CD8+ T cell responses in NSCLC, using a combination of ex vivo scRNA & TCR sequencing, spatial-omics, and in vitro functional assays. We are especially interested in tumor-reactive clonotypes that lack expression of the inhibitory receptor PD-1, or are specific for 'Cancer Testis Antigens', hypothesising that these two populations overlap. We aim to characterise novel populations of tumour-reactive TILs that lack canonical markers of exhaustion ex vivo but display a high cytotoxic and proliferative phenotype, suggesting enhanced potential to mediate tumour control. A better understanding of pre-exhausted T cell states within the tumour microenvironment will enable the development of novel T cell therapeutics and provide alternative therapeutic avenues for patients that are refractory to current front-line treatments e.g. PD-1 Immune Checkpoint Blockade.