Naeem Abdul Ghafoor

My DPhil research focuses on developing regulatory T cells (Tregs) for therapeutic application in transplantation.

Tregs are a subset of CD4⁺ T cells well-known for their function in maintaining immune homeostasis and tolerance. This makes Tregs a promising avenue for exploration in pathologies where dysfunctional immune regulation is implicated, such as autoimmune disorders and graft rejection in transplantation. Several studies by TRIG and other groups have shown that adoptive transfer of Tregs are safe and efficacious in different preclinical models of graft rejection. My research focuses on developing an off-the-shelf adoptive Treg product to be minimize the risk of organ rejection in kidney transplantation and subsequently reduce reliance on immunosuppressive drugs while also addressing the challenges of scalability, standardization, and cost-effectiveness of personalized therapies.

I obtained my Bachelors and Masters in molecular biology from Muğla University, my thesis project focused on utilizing in silico and in vitro methods to identify preliminary hit compounds to inhibit MDM2 activity in immortalized cell lines. I later joined the Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters in Leading International Vaccinology Education program where I received theoretical and practical training in the field of immunology and vaccinology from the University of Barcelona, Autonomous University of Barcelona, University of Antwerp, Jean Monnet University, and Claude Bernard University Lyon 1. During the last semester of the program, I attended the Ludwig Cancer Research (Oxford Branch) for an end-of-studies internship where I worked on exploring the regulators of natural killer cell exhaustion and their use for cancer immunotherapy. Shortly after my internship, I returned to Oxford to pursue a DPhil in Surgical Sciences in the Translation Research Immunology Group (TRIG).