In Conversation With… Marta Barisa, Senior Research Fellow at UCL

Marta Barisa is a Senior Research Fellow at University College London, and works with the Experimental Paediatric Oncology Research Group and Allogeneic Immunotherapy Research Group at the Zayed Centre of UCL FOS ICH. She specialises in solid cancer immunotherapy development, and has a particular interest in paediatric solid tumours. Her research focuses on evaluating ways to target and re-polarise the solid tumour microenvironment, including approaches in radiotherapy, chemotherapy, checkpoint blockade, and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity. Barisa’s work ranges from early-to-late stage cell therapy drug development, including gene engineering construct design, transduction process optimisations, cell signalling analysis, and scale-ups of both viral and cell therapy product manufacture. A key focus for her is the improvement of survival rates for children with high-risk neuroblastoma, providing more effective treatments with fewer side effects.