Prof Ed Roberts

Immune Priming and the Tumour Microenvironment

Immune checkpoint therapies have revolutionized cancer care, yet they still only work for a subset of patients. Our lab is investigating why. We are tracking how anti-tumour responses are initiated in the lymph node and then regulated within the tumour microenvironment. By decoding the signals that suppress T-cells at both sites, we are identifying new ways to “re-tune” the immune system. Our goal is to overcome these biological roadblocks and ensure more patients benefit from these life-saving breakthroughs.

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Biography

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Recent Publications

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Biography

Education and qualifications

2012: PhD, University of Cambridge, Supervisor Douglas Fearon
2007: BSc, Pathology (immunology, parasitology and microbiology), University of Cambridge

Appointments

2026–present: Senior Group Leader, Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute
2019–2026: Junior Group Leader, Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute
2013–2019: Postdoctoral Fellow with Matthew Krummel, UCSF, USA

Funding

Beatson Cancer Charity, Cell Guidance Systems

Recent Publications

2026

Riggio AI, Sweeney K, Shaw R, Lawlor A, Khan A, Ferrari N, Anand J, Galbraith LC, Gilroy K, Bull C, Young AL, Athineos D, Hall H, Ghaffar F, Hughes M, Mitchell CA, Mitchell L, Nixon C, Adams PD, Roberts EW, Miller CJ, Dunne PD, Campbell KJ, Cameron ER, Blyth K. Runx1 and Runx2 act in concert to suppress Wnt/β-catenin-driven mammary tumourigenesis. Br J Cancer. 2026.

Stavrou V, Ali M, Gudgeon N, Bishop EL, Fulton-Ward T, Turley B, Heising S, Mohamed SH, Hain S, George L, Deng M, McCowan J, Sheriff L, Davies SP, Marzullo B, Tennant DA, Doig CL, Bending DA, Roberts EW, Lavery GG, Drummond RA, Dimeloe S. Cytoplasmic NAD/H synthesis via NRK1 regulates inflammatory capacity and promotes survival of CD4(+) T cells. Nat Commun. 2026;17(1).

2025

Janas PP, T’Jonck W, Burgess MO, Reck M, Chauché C, Vermeren M, Lucas CD, Bain C, Illingworth R, Roberts EW, McSorley HJ, Schwarze J. Epithelial Memory After Respiratory Viral Infection in Mice Results in Prolonged Enhancement of Antigen Presentation. Allergy. 2025;80(9):2501-2518.

Lau VWC, Mead GJ, Varyova Z, Mazet JM, Krishnan A, Roberts EW, Prota G, Gileadi U, Midwood KS, Cerundolo V, Gérard A. Remodelling of the immune landscape by IFNγ counteracts IFNγ-dependent tumour escape in mouse tumour models. Nat Commun. 2025;16(1):2.

Samarakoon Y, Yelland T, Garcia-Gonzalez E, da Silva Justo Junior A, Mahmood M, Manoharan A, Patterson S, Serafin V, Gammage PA, Marmiroli S, Halsey C, Ismail S, Roberts EW. UNC119 regulates T-cell receptor signalling in primary T cells and T acute lymphocytic leukaemia. Life Sci Alliance. 2025;8(3).

Weir D, Bentley-Abbot C, McCowan J, Loney C, Roberts E, Hutchinson E. Induction of tunnelling nanotube-like structures by influenza A viruses requires the onset of apoptosis. PLoS Pathog. 2025;21(6):e1013191.

Whyte D, Fisher SL, McKenzie CGJ, Sumpton D, Dhayade S, Dornier E, Moore M, Novo D, Peters J, Wiesheu R, Gounis MD, Watt DM, Mackey JBG, McFarlane AJ, Fercoq F, Dehesa Caballero C, Redmond KL, Mitchell LE, Anderson E, Thomson G, Hedley A, Clark W, Leroi S, Dzierozynski LN, Apiz Saab JJ, Lewis CA, Muir A, Halbrook CJ, Strathdee D, Jackstadt R, Nixon C, Dunne P, Carlin LM, Macpherson IR, Roberts EW, Coffelt SB, Blyth K, Sansom OJ, Norman JC, Vande Voorde J, Clarke CJ. Uridine phosphorylase-1 supports metastasis by altering immune and extracellular matrix landscapes. EMBO Rep. 2025.

2024

Bentley-Abbot C, Heslop R, Pirillo C, Chandrasegaran P, McConnell G, Roberts E, Hutchinson E, MacLeod A. An easy to use tool for the analysis of subcellular mRNA transcript colocalisation in smFISH data. Sci Rep. 2024;14(1):8348.

Fercoq F, Cairns GS, Donatis MD, Mackey JBG, Floerchinger A, McFarlane A, Raffo-Iraolagoitia XL, Whyte D, Arnott LWG, Nixon C, Wiesheu R, Kilbey A, Brown L, Al-Khalidi S, Norman JC, Roberts EW, Blyth K, Coffelt SB, Carlin LM. Integrin inactivation slows down neutrophils congesting the pre-metastatic lung in a model of breast cancer. bioRxiv. 2024:2024.2003.2019.585724.

Hargrave KE, Worrell JC, Pirillo C, Brennan E, Masdefiol Garriga A, Gray JI, Purnell T, Roberts EW, MacLeod MKL. Lung influenza virus-specific memory CD4 T cell location and optimal cytokine production are dependent on interactions with lung antigen-presenting cells. Mucosal Immunol. 2024;17(5):843-857.

Janas PP, T’Jonck W, Burgess M, Chauche C, Vermeren M, Lucas C, Bain CC, Illingworth RS, Roberts EW, McSorley HJ, Schwarze J. Epithelial memory after respiratory viral infection results in long-lasting enhancement of antigen presentation. bioRxiv. 2024:2024.2007.2026.605255.

Lau VWC, Mead G, Mazet JM, Krishnan A, Roberts EW, Prota G, Gileadi U, Cerundolo V, Gérard A. IFNγ-dependent remodelling of the myeloid landscape underlies control of IFNγ-insensitive tumours. bioRxiv. 2024:2024.2003.2025.586537.

Lukoszek R, Inesta-Vaquera F, Brett NJM, Liang S, Hepburn LA, Hughes DJ, Pirillo C, Roberts EW, Cowling VH. CK2 phosphorylation of CMTR1 promotes RNA cap formation and influenza virus infection. Cell Rep. 2024;43(7):114405.

Mahmood M, Liu EM, Shergold AL, Tolla E, Tait-Mulder J, Huerta-Uribe A, Shokry E, Young AL, Lilla S, Kim M, Park T, Boscenco S, Manchon JL, Rodríguez-Antona C, Walters RC, Springett RJ, Blaza JN, Mitchell L, Blyth K, Zanivan S, Sumpton D, Roberts EW, Reznik E, Gammage PA. Mitochondrial DNA mutations drive aerobic glycolysis to enhance checkpoint blockade response in melanoma. Nat Cancer. 2024.

Weir D, Bentley-Abbot C, McCowan J, Loney C, Roberts E, Hutchinson E. Influenza A viruses induce tunnelling nanotube-like structures through the onset of apoptosis. bioRxiv. 2024:2024.2009.2025.614890.

2023

Cheng Z, Thompson EJ, Mendive-Tapia L, Scott JI, Benson S, Kitamura T, Senan-Salinas A, Samarakoon Y, Roberts EW, Arias MA, Pardo J, Galvez EM, Vendrell M. Fluorogenic Granzyme A Substrates Enable Real-Time Imaging of Adaptive Immune Cell Activity. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2023;62:e202216142.

Hargrave KE, Worrell JC, Pirillo C, Brennan E, Garriga AM, Gray JI, Purnell T, Roberts EW, MacLeod MK. Lung influenza virus specific memory CD4 T cell location and optimal cytokine production are dependent on interactions with lung antigen-presenting cells. bioRxiv. 2023:2023.2009.2019.558387.

Hewitt RJ, Puttur F, Gaboriau DCA, Fercoq F, Fresquet M, Traves WJ, Yates LL, Walker SA, Molyneaux PL, Kemp SV, Nicholson AG, Rice A, Roberts E, Lennon R, Carlin LM, Byrne AJ, Maher TM, Lloyd CM. Lung extracellular matrix modulates KRT5(+) basal cell activity in pulmonary fibrosis. Nat Commun. 2023;14(1):6039.

Laing S, Kruspig B, Shaw R, Officer-Jones L, Edwards S, McKinven D, Hsieh Y-C, Powley I, Brady N, Pennie R, Kwan R, Lima A, Myrta S, Periyasamy M, Dye IC, Nixon C, Clark G, Junttila MR, Maddalo D, Miller C, Ali S, Fuchter MJ, Nickles D, Kirschner K, Brown RB, Quesne JL, Strathdee D, Coffelt SB, Roberts E, Murphy DJ. ERBB signalling contributes to immune evasion in KRAS-driven lung adenocarcinoma. bioRxiv. 2023:2023.2007.2024.550274.

Mahmood M, Liu EM, Shergold AL, Tolla E, Tait-Mulder J, Uribe AH, Shokry E, Young AL, Lilla S, Kim M, Park T, Manchon JL, Rodriguez-Antona C, Walters RC, Springett RJ, Blaza JN, Zanivan S, Sumpton DA, Roberts EW, Reznik E, Gammage PA. Tumour mitochondrial DNA mutations drive aerobic glycolysis to enhance checkpoint blockade. bioRxiv. 2023;Volume:2023.2003.2021.533091.

Pirillo C, Al Khalidi S, Sims A, Devlin R, Zhao H, Pinto R, Jasim S, Shearer PA, Shergold AL, Donnelly H, Bravo-Blas A, Loney C, Perona-Wright G, Hutchinson E, Roberts EW. Cotransfer of antigen and contextual information harmonizes peripheral and lymph node conventional dendritic cell activation. Sci Immunol. 2023;8:eadg8249.

Sims A, Tornaletti LB, Jasim S, Pirillo C, Devlin R, Hirst JC, Loney C, Wojtus J, Sloan E, Thorley L, Boutell C, Roberts E, Hutchinson E. Superinfection exclusion creates spatially distinct influenza virus populations. PLoS Biol. 2023;21:e3001941.

Young AL, Lorimer T, Al-Khalidi SK, Roberts EW. De novo priming: driver of immunotherapy responses or epiphenomenon? Essays Biochem. 2023.

Shergold AL, Devlin RM, Young AL, Roberts EW. Chemotaxis: Dendritic cells as trendsetters of the immune response. Curr Biol. 2023(18):R957-r959.

2022

Leslie J, Mackey JBG, Jamieson T, Ramon-Gil E, Drake TM, Fercoq F, Clark W, Gilroy K, Hedley A, Nixon C, Luli S, Laszczewska M, Pinyol R, Esteban-Fabró R, Willoughby CE, Haber PK, Andreu-Oller C, Rahbari M, Fan C, Pfister D, Raman S, Wilson N, Müller M, Collins A, Geh D, Fuller A, McDonald D, Hulme G, Filby A, Cortes-Lavaud X, Mohamed N-E, Ford CA, Raffo Iraolagoitia XL, McFarlane AJ, McCain MV, Ridgway RA, Roberts EW, Barry ST, Graham GJ, Heikenwälder M, Reeves HL, Llovet JM, Carlin LM, Bird TG, Sansom OJ, Mann DA. CXCR2 inhibition enables NASH-HCC immunotherapy. Gut. 2022;71:2093-2106.

Pirillo C, Birch F, Tissot FS, Gonzalez Anton S, Haltalli M, Tini V, Kong IY, Piot C, Partridge B, Pospori C, Keeshan K, Santamaria S, Hawkins E, Falini B, Marra A, Duarte D, Lee CF, Roberts E, Lo Celso C. Metalloproteinase inhibition reduces AML growth, prevents stem cell loss, and improves chemotherapy effectiveness. Blood Adv. 2022;6:3126-3141.

Scott JI, Mendive-Tapia L, Gordon D, Barth ND, Thompson EJ, Cheng Z, Taggart D, Kitamura T, Bravo-Blas A, Roberts EW, Juarez-Jimenez J, Michel J, Piet B, de Vries IJ, Verdoes M, Dawson J, Carragher NO, Connor RAO, Akram AR, Frame M, Serrels A, Vendrell M. A fluorogenic probe for granzyme B enables in-biopsy evaluation and screening of response to anticancer immunotherapies. Nat Commun. 2022;13:2366.

Yi R, Chen E, Roberts EW, Krummel MF, Serwas NK. Impact of protein identity on tumor-associated antigen uptake into infiltrating immune cells: A comparison of different fluorescent proteins as model antigens. PLoS One. 2022;17(8):e0272857.

Bravo-Blas A, Pirillo C, Shergold A, Andrusaite A, Roberts EW. Think global but act local: Tuning the dendritic cell response in cancer. The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology. 2022;147:106227.

Devlin R, Roberts E. Building a healthy mouse model ecosystem to interrogate cancer biology. Dis Model Mech. 2022;15(9):dmm049795.

2021

Ntala C, Salji M, Salmond J, Officer L, Teodosio AV, Blomme A, McGhee EJ, Powley I, Ahmad I, Kruithof-de Julio M, Thalmann G, Roberts E, Goodyear CS, Jamaspishvili T, Berman DM, Carlin LM, Le Quesne J, Leung HY. Analysis of Prostate Cancer Tumor Microenvironment Identifies Reduced Stromal CD4 Effector T-cell Infiltration in Tumors with Pelvic Nodal Metastasis. Eur Urol Open Sci. 2021;29:19-29.

Yi R, Chen E, Roberts EW, Krummel MF, Serwas NK. Impact of Protein Identity on Tumor-Associated Antigen Uptake into Infiltrating Immune Cells: A Comparison of Different Fluorescent Proteins as Model Antigens. bioRxiv. 2021:2021.2010.2030.464602.

2020

Ruhland MK, Roberts EW, Cai E, Mujal AM, Marchuk K, Beppler C, Nam D, Serwas NK, Binnewies M, Krummel MF. Visualizing Synaptic Transfer of Tumor Antigens among Dendritic Cells. Cancer Cell. 2020;37(6):786-799.e785.

2019

Binnewies M, Mujal AM, Pollack JL, Combes AJ, Hardison EA, Barry KC, Tsui J, Ruhland MK, Kersten K, Abushawish MA, Spasic M, Giurintano JP, Chan V, Daud AI, Ha P, Ye CJ, Roberts EW, Krummel MF. Unleashing Type-2 Dendritic Cells to Drive Protective Antitumor CD4(+) T Cell Immunity. Cell. 2019;177:556-571.e16.

2018

Binnewies M, Roberts EW, Kersten K, Chan V, Fearon DF, Merad M, Coussens LM, Gabrilovich DI, Ostrand-Rosenberg S, Hedrick CC, Vonderheide RH, Pittet MJ, Jain RK, Zou W, Howcroft TK, Woodhouse EC, Weinberg RA, Krummel MF. Understanding the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) for effective therapy. Nature Medicine. 2018;24:541-50.

Denton AE, Roberts EW, Fearon DT. Stromal Cells in the Tumor Microenvironment. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology. 2018;1060:99-114.

Morrissey MA, Williamson AP, Steinbach AM, Roberts EW, Kern N, Headley MB, Vale RD. Chimeric antigen receptors that trigger phagocytosis. eLife. 2018;7:e36688.

2017

Wong PT, Roberts EW, Tang S, Mukherjee J, Cannon J, Nip AJ, Corbin K, Krummel MF, Choi SK. Control of an Unusual Photo-Claisen Rearrangement in Coumarin Caged Tamoxifen through an Extended Spacer. ACS Chemical Biology. 2017;12:1001-10.

2016

Flint TR, Janowitz T, Connell CM, Roberts EW, Denton AE, Coll AP, Jodrell DI, Fearon DT. Tumor-Induced IL-6 Reprograms Host Metabolism to Suppress Anti-tumor Immunity. Cell Metabolism. 2016;24:672-84.

Headley MB, Bins A, Nip A, Roberts EW, Looney MR, Gerard A, Krummel MF. Visualization of immediate immune responses to pioneer metastatic cells in the lung. Nature. 2016;531:513-7.

Roberts EW, Broz ML, Binnewies M, Headley MB, Nelson AE, Wolf DM, Kaisho T, Bogunovic D, Bhardwaj N, Krummel MF. Critical Role for CD103(+)/CD141(+) Dendritic Cells Bearing CCR7 for Tumor Antigen Trafficking and Priming of T Cell Immunity in Melanoma. Cancer Cell. 2016;30:324-36.