Dr Aideen Ryan is an Associate Professor of Tumour Immunology at the University of Galway, Ireland, where she heads an internationally recognised group working on the identification of stromal cell immunological targets in tumours. Dr Ryan graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry from the University of Galway and a PhD in Medicine from University College Cork. Following her PhD, she completed postdoctoral fellowships and sabbaticals at the University of Galway and Barts Cancer Institute, London, before establishing her independent group in the Lambe Institute for Translational Medicine, University of Galway

Aideen has been recognized as an emerging leader in the field of Immunotherapy by the US based Society of Immunotherapy for Cancer (SITC). Aideen leads a group of researchers whose focus is to understand barriers to the effective use of immunotherapy in advanced colon cancer. As demonstrable evidence of externally validated research excellence, Dr Ryan have secured over €10 million as PI /co-PI in independent internationally reviewed research funding. She has published over 55 peer-reviewed research papers, most recently in Molecular Therapy, Journal of Immunotherapy for Cancer and Cell Reports. Aideen has received multiple international and national awards for research excellence and early career achievements, including the renowned ‘Lindau Nobel laureate Award’ and the prestigious ‘European Association of Cancer Research Young Scientist Award’. Aideen has received the President’s Award for Teaching Excellence (2024) and Research excellence (2018).

Globally, the novelty of her research is recognised by international collaboration and invitations to present and chair leading conferences, such as the European Congress of Immunology (ECI) and Society of Immunotherapy for Cancer (SITC). She has chaired the scientific evaluation committee of the EU-funded TRANSCAN-3 with a €34M budget to support high-impact translational cancer research. Her research has attracted investment and collaborations from industry partners, including Janssen Therapeutics, BMS, Celgene and Palleon. She is a named inventor on two patents and two invention disclosures.

Aideen’s research has specific relevance and potential implications for the treatment of a range of diseases including cancer, auto-immunity and transplantation. Dr Ryans major scientific accomplishments to date include (i) Identification of the role of Fas ligand in immune suppression in a pre-clinical model of colon cancer (published Cancer Research) (ii) Characterization of the role of NF-κB in colon cancer metastasis and host anti-tumour immunity in vivo (published Oncogene and JITC)  (iii) Identification of stromal cell PD-L1 and sialylation as immunotherapies in colorectal cancer (published Cancer immunology Research and Cell Reports)

Dr. Ryans research interests include 1) Understanding mechanisms of immune modulation of macrophages and effector T cells by mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs)2) Understanding colon tumor cell and stromal cell interactions in the colon cancer microenvironment3) Understanding mechanisms of immune evasion immune modulation in colon cancer with particular focus on the influence of tumor cell NF- #954;B activity and macrophagestromal cell interactions on the microenvironment4) Understanding and optimizing macrophage anti-tumour effector functions in the tumour microenvironment in the context of chemotherapy and monoclonal antibody therapies

My teaching interests include:

Cancer cell Signalling

Immuno-pharmacology

Allogeneic Cellular therapy and Host Responses

Immune Microenvironment in Cancer

Immunotherapies for the treatment of Cancer

Gastrointestinal Cancers

Mechanisms of Immune evasion in Cancer

Cancer Pharmacology

Strategies to modulate theimmune microenvironment in cancer

Targeting Inflammation