Emre Demirel is an MRC DTP-funded PhD student in the Rahman Lab at King’s College London. His project focuses on developing haem oxygenase-1 (HO-1) inhibitors as next-generation immunotherapy agents. HO-1 is an enzyme expressed by tumour-associated macrophages that contributes to tumour immunosuppression. By blocking HO-1, his work aims to restore anti-tumour immunity and improve therapeutic outcomes, including in brain cancers, where one candidate drug has shown the ability to cross the blood–brain barrier.
He completed his BSc in Biomedical Science at the University of Warwick, followed by an MSc in Immunology at King’s. He then began his doctoral training at King’s, jointly supervised between the Tumour Immunology and Drug Discovery groups. His research integrates medicinal chemistry, chemical biology, and tumour immunology to advance drug candidates towards translational development.