Dr. Saman Maleki
Early Career Investigator
My laboratory is interested in microbiome-based therapeutic strategies that would sensitize hard-to-treat cancers to immunotherapy.
External Links
We use preclinical mouse models to test bacterial-based therapies in combination with immunotherapies for the treatment of different tumors. We also collect stool samples from patients and conduct observational studies involving avatar mouse models through human-to-mouse fecal transplants that would allow us to better understand the role of the gut microbiome in cancer treatment response and treatment-related toxicities. We also conduct interventional microbiome-based clinical trials (phase I/II) that involve fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) in cancer patients receiving systemic treatment including immunotherapy and chemotherapy.
Experience & Education
- Co-Director, Translational Immuno-Oncology Research Group, Centre for Translational Cancer Research, Western University
- Ph.D. Dept of Microbiology and Immunology, Western University
- M.Sc. Dept of Microbiology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
- B.Sc. Dept of Microbiology, Arak Azad University, Arak, Iran
Current Affiliations
- Assistant Professor, Departments of Oncology, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and Medical Biophysics at Western University
- Translational Immuno-Oncology Scientist at Lawson Health Research Institute
- Early Career Investigator, OICR
Select Publications
- El-Hajjar, Mikal, Lara Gerhardt, Megan MY Hong, Mithunah Krishnamoorthy, Rene Figueredo, Xiufen Zheng, James Koropatnick, and Saman Maleki. “Inducing mismatch repair deficiency sensitizes immune-cold neuroblastoma to anti-CTLA4 and generates broad anti-tumor immune memory.” Molecular Therapy (2022).
- Aghamajidi, Azin, and Saman Maleki. “The Effect of the Gut Microbiota on Systemic and Anti-Tumor Immunity and Response to Systemic Therapy against Cancer.” Cancers 14, no. 15 (2022): 3563.
- Krishnamoorthy, Mithunah, John G. Lenehan, and Saman Maleki. “Neoadjuvant immunotherapy for high-risk, resectable malignancies: scientific rationale and clinical challenges.” JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute 113, no. 7 (2021): 823-832.
- Gameiro, Steven F., Farhad Ghasemi, John W. Barrett, James Koropatnick, Anthony C. Nichols, Joe S. Mymryk, and Saman Maleki. “Treatment-naïve HPV+ head and neck cancers display a T-cell-inflamed phenotype distinct from their HPV-counterparts that has implications for immunotherapy.” Oncoimmunology 7, no. 10 (2018): e1498439.
- Saman Maleki. “High and low mutational burden tumors versus immunologically hot and cold tumors and response to immune checkpoint inhibitors.” Journal for immunotherapy of cancer 6, no. 1 (2018): 1-5.
See Dr. Maleki’s recent publications on PubMed.
Research Areas
Disease Areas
Awards
- OICR Early Career Investigator Award 2022-2028
- Department of Oncology Excellence in Academics and Teaching, Western University
- SITC Sparkathon Award 2017-2018
- Community Impact Award, Canadian Cancer Society, Ontario Division, Celebrating 2014 Impact in Community Prevention, Outreach, Advocacy Award
Opportunities to Collaborate
- Microbiome analysis
- Immunophenotyping of tumors
- Phase I clinical trials in microbiome-based therapies and immunotherapies
- Microbiome biobank
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