Jamie D'Costa

Research Interests:

Deciphering the CD8+ T cell landscape and reactivity during the development of hepatocellular carcinoma

Liver cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide and the third biggest cancer killer. More and more patients in the UK are getting liver cancer and dying from this. Two thirds of patients with advanced liver cancer do not respond to our best treatment options. We want to study what drives response to our current treatments and use this information to develop the next generation of cancer therapies.

I will study the  role of the immune system of patients with liver disease who subsequently develop liver cancer compared to those that don’t. I will use advanced wet lab and computational techniques to understand these differences at the protein level. We will confirm any changes we see in the proteins of immune cells by looking at their genes.

Following this initial approach, I will  study whether the immune system can recognise proteins that are commonly found in liver tumours. I will see whether patients on immunotherapy have a different response to these cancer proteins and whether this can affect their response to treatment. We then use complex computational techniques to specifically understand the genes involved with recognition of these proteins and whether we can detect these specific immune cells in the tumours.

Background:

I am a DPhil student in the Galvez-Cancino Lab studying T-cell reactivities in Hepatocellular Carcinoma(HCC). In addition, I hold an Honorary Specialist Registrar position in the Oxford University Hospitals NHS trust. 

I initially completed a Bachelor of Clinical Sciences (BMEDSc) gaining a First-Class honours at the University of Birmingham in 2016. I subsequently graduated from my Medical Degree with a Distinction in Research and multiple prizes in 2018. During my undergraduate studies I presented at several national and international conferences. 

I completed initial foundation training in the West Midlands Deanery. Subsequently I was awarded a NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship at the University of Oxford and a National training Number in Medical Oncology in the Thames Valley region. 

Clinically I have worked as a Sub-Investigator on several early and late phase clinical trials, which has led to multiple publications in high Impact journals in the Lancet, Lancet Oncology and JAMA Network open. During my academic year, I secured additional funding to research novel immunotherapeutic in metastatic pleural effusions under the tutelage of the Seymour Laboratory at the University of Oxford. 

I gained Membership of the Royal College of Physicians [MRCP(UK)] and a Post graduate Diploma of Healthcare Research at the University of Oxford in 2022. I subsequently started higher specialist training in Medical Oncology in 2023, and in 2025 I was awarded a CRUK doctoral training fellowship for my DPhil.