William Serkin

Research Interest:

As a member of Dr. Pedroza-Pacheco’s group, my research focuses on local adaptive immune responses in the tumor microenvironment. I’m especially focused on which T cells are actually engaged with their own specific antigen in the context of tertiary lymphoid structures in colorectal and other solid cancers in order to separate broad inflammation from antigen-specific responses. By using a collection of spatial and imaging technologies, I aim to not only identify which T cells are specifically responding, but also where they are located in patient tissues and who/what they are responding to.

Background:

I graduated from Northeastern University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Cell and Molecular Biology in 2020. I then joined the immunology team at eGenesis, Inc., studying B cell responses and antibody-mediated rejection in pig-to-human xenotransplantation for three years. Now, as a DPhil student and NIH-OxCam Scholar, I continue to study how coordinated cellular interactions drive adaptive immune responses under the co-supervision of Dr. Isabela Pedroza-Pacheco and Prof. Tim Elliott at the Centre for Immuno-Oncology and Dr. Ronald Germain at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.