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    Nikayla Batohi

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Understanding B cell responses to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in melanoma

Student name:

Nikayla Batohi (PhD candidate)

Supervisors:

  1. Professor Elin Gray
  2. Dr Pauline Zaenker
  3. Dr Leslie Beasley

Summary of thesis:

Malignant melanoma is a highly aggressive cancer often resistant to treatment. Recent advances in immunotherapy, specifically immune checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs), have improved patient outcomes, but many challenges remain. B cells, which play critical roles in the tumour microenvironment, have shown promise as biomarkers for predicting CPI therapy outcomes. We aim to investigate the role of B cells in modulating responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors in advanced melanoma patients. The B cell repertoire will be characterised using multi-parametric flow cytometry and B receptor sequencing. Understanding how B cells influence responses to CPI therapy can lead to the development of reliable predictive biomarkers, differentiating responders from non-responders, thereby improving treatment outcomes in advanced melanoma.

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