Delaney CC Dominey-Foy

Current Role
I am a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Oxford Institute (COI), where my work focuses on developing second-generation human lymphoid organoids to model adaptive immune responses. I am particularly interested in the cellular and molecular factors that govern the organisation of immune microenvironments within human tissue, such as germinal centres, and how these structures can be recapitulated ex vivo and in vitro.

This research builds on recent discoveries within our group demonstrating the role of vesicle-mediated signalling at the immune synapse. My approach combines organoid culture, high-parameter flow cytometry, live-cell imaging, CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing and single-cell transcriptomics. The project is supported by NC3Rs funding and involves collaborations with academic and biotechnology partners across the UK.

Previous Experience
I was awarded a DPhil in Clinical Medicine from the University of Oxford in May 2025, supervised by Professor Tao Dong and Dr Yanchun Peng. My doctoral research focused on the identification and characterisation of tumour-reactive CD8⁺ T cells in malignant pleural effusion. This work led to the development of a translational pipeline for isolating and functionally profiling autologous T-cell clones with therapeutic potential.

I hold a BSc (Hons) in Molecular Genetics from King’s College London. During my undergraduate studies, I had to opportunity to undertake research in Dr Reuben Benjamin’s group investigating autologous and allogeneic CAR T-cell therapies for haematological malignancies, including multiple myeloma and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL).