Dr David Withers

  • Group Leader in Experimental Cancer Immunology
  • Location: Room 587, Adam Smith Building

Title: Capturing temporal changes within the tumour microenvironment to better interrogate immune cell fate

Synopsis:

Our research aims to define precisely how immune cells are reshaped within tumours. Using tumour implantation in photoconvertible mice, we have developed labelling strategies that distinguish newly infiltrating from tissue-retained immune populations. This enables direct characterisation of immune cell fate as they enter and exit the tumour, providing real-time insight into their adaptation to the tumour microenvironment. Building on these tools, we are expanding our focus beyond effector populations to dissect the emergence and regulation of immunosuppressive cells within cancers. Together, these approaches reveal how local tissue environments sculpt anti-tumour immunity and identify pathways that can be targeted to improve therapeutic outcomes.

Bio:

David studied for a PhD in Immunology at the Institute for Animal Health/University of Bristol, then moved to the laboratory of Dr Peter Lipsky at NIAMS, NIH for initial post-doctoral studies. In 2006 he returned to the UK to study with Professor Peter Lane at the University of Birmingham, cementing his interest in the regulation of adaptive immune responses. In 2011, David was awarded a Wellcome Trust Research Career Development Fellowship, followed by a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship in 2016. Both these fellowships focused on ILC regulation of adaptive immunity. In recent years research interests have focused on the regulation of anti-tumour immunity. In June 2024, David moved his lab to the NDM Centre for Immuno-Oncology at the University of Oxford. As Professor of Experimental Cancer Immunology, he leads the Tumour-Immune Cell Dynamics Group, currently supported by a Wellcome Discovery Award and Cancer Research UK Programme grant.

 

First published: 6 January 2026

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