National University of Ireland, Galway
Aideen Ryan, PhD, is a research Lecturer in tumour immunology in the School of Medicine, Discipline of Pharmacology & Therapeutics at NUI Galway. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from NUI Galway in 2001 and a PhD in Medicine from the University College Cork in 2006. She completed her postdoctoral training in the labs of Laurence Egan, MD, MS, and Thomas Ritter, PhD, at NUI Galway before starting her independent research group at NUI Galway in 2017. Dr. Ryan’s research team is uncovering novel stromal cell targets that shape the immunosuppressive microenvironment in cancer. Dr. Ryan’s research is published in high ranking journals and has led to several recent prestigious independent grants, postdoctoral fellowships and international awards including a Top Outstanding Young Peoples Award, Future Leaders Award, Irish Cancer Society Research Paper of the Year award, NUI Presidents Award for Research excellence, SFI Starting Investigator Research Award. She is a named inventor on patents relating to discoveries on novel mechanisms to activate the immune system in cancer to enhance immunotherapy. As part of a visiting senior lectureship at Bart’s Cancer Institute, QMUL, London, Dr. Ryan’s group is developing 3D models, in collaboration with Fran Balkwill, PhD and Daniela Loessner, PhD, to investigate mechanisms of immune evasion in colon cancer with particular focus on the influence macrophage/stromal cell interactions on anti-tumour immunity. Her research aims to uncover new stromal cell therapeutic targets to overcome immunosuppression in cancers to optimise and increase response to immunotherapies.