Samuel Martyn-Smith

I completed my undergraduate degree in Biological and Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Exeter, where I graduated at the top of my class in 2020, and was awarded the Henderson-Ross Award for my work. During the second year of my undergraduate degree, I interned in Prof. Patrick Laprise's Lab in Quebec City. My work centred on characterising protien oligomerisation, and how this can promote the Epithelial-Mesenchymal transition and therefore promote metastasis. 

Following my undergraduate degree, I moved to the University of Cambridge and completed a MPhil in Infection Biology and Molecular Immunology. Here, I joined the Halim lab at the CRUK CI and investigated the way in which Group 2 Innate Lymphoid Cells can influence the spatial organisation of the TME in PDAC. Here, I gained experience in immunofluorescence staining, microscopy and quantifying immune niches and spatial distribution of immune cells within the TME. 

In October 2025, I joined Prof. Wither's Lab, to undertake an iCASE project entitled "Understanding the effect of combined immune checkpoint inhibition through space and time". Here, in partnership with Astrazeneca, I will work to investigate the way in which a novel bisepcific antibody differs in its immune-modulartory effect in comparison to its monospecific counterparts. My work will employ GEMM to elucidate how different treatment protocols influence immune trafficking and egress within colorectal tumours. Ultimately, I aim to optimise immunotherapy regimens for ICB and to characterise how distinct therapeutic approaches reshape the immune landscape and modulate treatment responses in colorectal cancer.