Contact information
lOCATION:
John Radcliffe Hospital, Level 6, Headley Way, Headington, Oxford, OX3 9DU
Research groups
Awards
- 2nd prize for the European Society of Organ Transplantation (ESOT) Leonardo da Vinci Innovation Award, ESOT 2019 Congress - read the story on the NDS news pages
Sushma Shankar
BA Hons BMBCH FRCS DPhil (Oxon)
Senior Clinical Research Fellow
- Honorary Consultant Surgeon in Transplantation, Organ Retrieval and Vascular Access
- Official Fellow in Cellular Life, Reuben College
I am a Senior Clinical Research Fellow and Honorary Consultant Surgeon in Transplantation, Vascular Access and Organ Retrieval. My research focuses on the roles of human regulatory B cells (Bregs) in both health and disease.
Breg have been shown to be protective in solid organ transplantation and autoimmune disease, whilst promoting disease progression in conditions such as infection and cancer. At the Translational Research Immunology Group (TRIG), we have developed novel methods to generate human Breg ex vivo, which are able to regulate allo-specific immune responses in vivo, in clinically relevant humanised mouse models of skin transplantation to prolong human allograft survival.
We are currently interrogating mechanisms by which Breg develop and function in vivo and their interactions with B effector populations and regulatory T cells (Tregs). We are also working on genetic editing methods by which to improve Breg-specific effects as a precursor to novel, antigen-specific cellular therapies. In innovative new projects, we are employing novel ex vivo platforms including human lymphoid organoids to investigate the role of human Breg in the immunoregulation of vaccine responses as well as in allo- and autoimmunity. This work is funded by the Wellcome Trust, Royal College of Surgeons, Oxfordshire Health Services, the Oxford Transplant Foundation and industry partnerships including Oxford Biomedica.
Recent publications
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Expanding Human Breg for Cellular Therapy in Transplantation: Time for Translation.
Journal article
McNee A. et al, (2024), Transplantation
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The current understanding of the phenotypic and functional properties of human regulatory B cells (Bregs).
Journal article
Ahsan NF. et al, (2024), Oxf Open Immunol, 5
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Ex vivo-expanded human CD19+TIM-1+ regulatory B cells suppress immune responses in vivo and are dependent upon the TIM-1/STAT3 axis.
Journal article
Shankar S. et al, (2022), Nat Commun, 13
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SARS-CoV-2-Specific T Cell Responses Are Not Associated with Protection against Reinfection in Hemodialysis Patients.
Journal article
Shankar S. et al, (2022), J Am Soc Nephrol, 33, 883 - 887
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Towards regulatory cellular therapies in solid organ transplantation.
Journal article
Bottomley MJ. et al, (2022), Trends Immunol, 43, 8 - 21