Consultant Hepatologist & Clinician Scientist
Barts Cancer Institute · Queen Mary University of London
Our mission is to harness the immune system to develop new therapies for patients with liver cancer.
Our group sits at the interface of hepatology and cancer immunology, with a focus on primary liver cancer. Despite recent advances in immunotherapy, the majority of patients do not achieve adequate responses. Our work aims to develop more universally effective cellular immunotherapies suitable for translation to clinical practice.
We are based at Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, and welcome enquiries from prospective students, postdocs, and collaborators.
Immunotherapy has transformed the treatment landscape for patients with primary liver cancer, but the majority of patients do not show objective responses. Our group is building the scientific foundation for new, more universally effective treatment strategies, combining cellular therapies and tumour microenvironment targeting.
We are particularly interested in gamma delta T cells, unconventional immune cells that are capable of MHC-independent recognition of stress-related ligands. Our landmark Nature Communications paper (2022) showed these cells can acquire a tissue-resident memory phenotype in human liver and liver tumours, and associate with improved patient survival. We are now working on novel strategies to therapeutically harness gamma delta T cells for the treatment of liver cancer.
Zakeri N et al. Characterisation and induction of tissue-resident gamma delta T-cells to target hepatocellular carcinoma. Nature Communications 2022.
The tumour microenvironment (TME) in HCC is a complex ecosystem of immune cells, stromal cells, and signalling molecules — many of which actively suppress anti-tumour immunity. Understanding this suppressive landscape is critical to unleashing the potential of immunotherapy.
The group is currently being established at Barts Cancer Institute. We are actively seeking talented and motivated researchers to join us — please get in touch if you are interested in postdoctoral, PhD, or clinical research fellow opportunities.
Group Leader & Senior Clinical Lecturer · Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Dr Zakeri is a Consultant Hepatologist and Clinician Scientist whose research focuses on liver cancer immunotherapy. She is a Group Leader and Senior Clinical Lecturer at Barts Cancer Institute, and an Affiliated Researcher at the Francis Crick Institute. Her research is funded by the Wellcome Trust, LifeArc, and Cancer Research UK.
Dr Zakeri completed her specialty training in Hepatology and Liver Transplantation at the Royal Free Hospital London and Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham as an NIHR Clinical Lecturer, developing her research and clinical interest in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.
She obtained a PhD in Liver Immunology Clinical and Translational Science from University College London, funded by a Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Fellowship. Dr Zakeri has received many prestigious awards including the National Cancer Research Institute Future of Research Award, Sir Roger Williams Institute of Hepatology Award for Basic Science, and she was a 3-Minute Thesis National Finalist. Her research generating the foundational characterisation for tissue-resident gamma delta T cells in hepatocellular carcinoma, published in Nature Communications, has been cited over 100 times.
Dr Zakeri is also the Hepatology Representative for HCC UK and a committee member for the International Liver Cancer Association. Her research vision is to translate scientific discoveries towards clinical impact, and she is an active contributor to public understanding of research.
We are building a multidisciplinary team with expertise spanning clinical hepatology and radiology, tumour immunology, and translational research. Please get in touch if you are interested in a PhD, postdoc, or clinical research fellowship. We particularly welcome applicants from underrepresented backgrounds. Get in touch.
Our research is generously supported by the following organisations.
We believe that excellent science must be communicated broadly — to patients, the public, and the next generation of researchers. Dr Zakeri is actively involved in education, advocacy, and public awareness of liver cancer.
We welcome enquiries from journalists, patient groups, and educational organisations. Please get in touch to discuss opportunities.