Dr Nathaniel Dasyam
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Dr Nathaniel Dasyam undertook his PhD in Molecular Microbiology with Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington under the supervision of Dr Robert Alexander Keyzers and Dr Ronan O’Toole. His thesis involved drug discovery of new antibiotics against tuberculosis from marine organisms.
He then worked for a year as a research and development scientist at Aroa Biosurgery in Auckland, in the field of medical devices. In 2016 Nathaniel started working as a research officer on the MELVAC phase II clinical trial at the Malaghan Institute as part of the Hermans Laboratory.
Nathaniel is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher in the Weinkove Laboratory.
Research interests
"With immunotherapy we can redirect the immune system to target and eliminate cancer cells, this is such an advancement in the fight against cancer. The idea of using one’s own immune system in this approach is something that is fascinating. Our institute is leading this approach in New Zealand, and being part of it furthers my knowledge all the time. Eventually I hope to conduct research combining my immunology research with my drug discovery training."
Related news
In Focus: From the lab to the clinic in New Zealand’s first CAR T-cell therapy clinical trial
8 March 2023
Improving CAR T-cell therapy to target solid tumours
23 May 2022
New study opens doors for immunotherapies for prostate cancer
13 December 2021
Malaghan Institute scientist named as KiwiNet Emerging Innovator
20 September 2021
Publications
2024
Burn OK, Dasyam N, Hermans IF (2024). Recruiting Natural Killer T Cells to Improve Vaccination: Lessons from Preclinical and Clinical Studies. Crit Rev Oncog. 29(1):31-43
2023
Dasyam N, Sharples KJ, Barrow C, Huang Y, Bauer E, Mester B, Wood CE, Authier-Hall A, Dzhelali M, Ostapowicz T, Kumar R, Lowe J, Maxwell A, Burn OK, Williams GM, Carley SE, Caygill G, Jones J, Chan STS, Hinder VA, Macapagal J, McCusker M, Weinkove R, Brimble MA, Painter GF, Findlay MP, Dunbar PR, Gasser O, Hermans IF (2023). A randomised controlled trial of long NY-ESO-1 peptide-pulsed autologous dendritic cells with or without alpha-galactosylceramide in high-risk melanoma. Cancer Immunol Immunother. 2023 Mar 7
2022
Prasit KK, Ferrer-Font L, Burn OK, Anderson RJ, Compton BJ, Schmidt AJ, Mayer JU, Chen CJ, Dasyam N, Ritchie DS, Godfrey DI, Mattarollo SR, Dundar PR, Painter GF, Hermans IF (2022). Intratumoural administration of an NKT cell agonist with CpG promotes NKT cell infiltration associated with an enhanced antitumour response and abscopal effect. Oncoimmunology. 11(1):2081009
2021
2020
Dasyam N, George P, Weinkove R (2020). Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies: Optimising the dose. Br J Clin Pharmacol.
George P, Dasyam N, Giunti G, Mester B, Bauer E, Andrews B, Perera T, Ostapowicz T, Frampton C, Li P, Ritchie D, Bollard CM, Hermans IF, Weinkove R (2020). Third-generation anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cells incorporating a TLR2 domain for relapsed or refractory B-cell lymphoma: a phase I clinical trial protocol (ENABLE). BMJ Open.10(2):e034629
2019
Weinkove R, George P, Dasyam N, McLellan AD (2019) Selecting costimulatory domains for chimeric antigen receptors: functional and clinical considerations. Clin Transl Immunology 8(5):e1049
Bajzikova M, Kovarova J, Coelho AR, Boukalova S, Oh S, Rohlenova K, Svec D, Hubackova S, Endaya B, Judasova K, Bezawork-Geleta A, Kluckova K, Chatre L, Zobalova R, Novakova A, Vanova K, Ezrova Z, Maghzal GJ, Magalhaes Novais S, Olsinova M, Krobova L, An YJ, Davidova E, Nahacka Z, Sobol M, Cunha-Oliveira T, Sandoval-Acuña C, Strnad H, Zhang T, Huynh T, Serafim TL, Hozak P, Sardao VA, Koopman WJH, Ricchetti M, Oliveira PJ, Kolar F, Kubista M, Truksa J, Dvorakova-Hortova K, Pacak K, Gurlich R, Stocker R, Zhou Y, Berridge MV, Park S, Dong L, Rohlena J, Neuzil J (2019) Reactivation of Dihydroorotate Dehydrogenase-Driven Pyrimidine Biosynthesis Restores Tumor Growth of Respiration-Deficient Cancer Cells. Cell Metab 29(2):399-416.e10
2017
Dong L-F, Kovarova J, Bajzikova M, Bezawork-Geleta A, Svec D, Endaya B, Sachaphibulkij K, Coelho AR, Sebkova N, Ruzickova A, Tan AS, Kluckova K, Judasova K, Zamecnikova K, Rychtarcikova Z, Gopalan V, Andera L, Sobol M, Yan B, Pattnaik B, Bhatraju N, Truksa J, Stopka P, Hozak P, Lam A, Sedlacek, R, Oliveira P, Kubista M, Agrawal A, Dvorakova-Hortova K, Rohlena J, Berridge MV, Neuzil J (2017) Horizontal transfer of whole mitochondria restores tumorigenic potential in mitochondrial DNA-deficient cancer cells. eLife
2015
Riordan SW, Field JJ, Corkran HM, Dasyam N, Stocker BL, Timmer MS, Harvey JE, Teesdale-Spittle PH. (2015). Synthesis of mycothiol conjugate analogues and evaluation of their antimycobacterial activity. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 25(10):20152-5.
2014
Dasyam N, Munkacsi AB, Fadzilah NH, Senanayake DS, O’Toole RF, Keyzers RA. (2014) Identification and bioactivity of 3-epi-xestoaminol C isolated from the New Zealand brown alga Xiphophora chondrophylla. J Nat Prod. 2014 Jun 27;77(6):1519-23.