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Contact Details

Phone
64 3 470 3455
Email
silke.neumann@otago.ac.nz

University Links

Position
Senior Research Fellow
Department
Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine (Dunedin)
Qualifications
BPharm PhD
Research summary
Cancer research and stroke immunology/immune therapy

Research

My research focuses on understanding the role of inflammation in disease progression (cancer and stroke), and how it shapes immune responses. I am particularly insterested in innate immune cells that play an important role in initiating and driving inflammatory processes, which in turn impair therapeutic success (cancer) and wound repair (stroke).

In the stroke project I have studied the temporal profile of immune cells that enter the brain post-stroke to understand when and in what ways these cells can be manipulated to inhibit inflammation and improve stroke recovery. A primary focus on my work has been the use of neurotransmitters or drugs that act like neurotransmitters to dampen the inflammatory processes.

Another aspect of my research is the development of a protocol for immunotherapy that will entail priming immune cells to selectively recognise and destroy cancer cells while sparing healthy cells. Furthermore, we are interested in deciphering the role of the immunoproteasome, a key component that enables antigen-presentation in the interplay between cancer and immune cells.

Elucidating the role of particular immune cell populations and soluble pro-inflammatory factors in the cancer and stroke microenvironment requires the use of multiple techniques. These techniques encompass cell-based assays, flow cytometric analysis and methods to assess the significance of immune cell populations, and the contribution of each to inflammation.

Publications

McCane, B., Rijwan, I., Fraser-Miller, S. J., Neumann, S., Maciaczyk, D., Maciaczyk, J., & Gordon, K. (2026). Machine learning for Raman spectroscopy glioblastoma classification. Journal of Chemometrics, 40, e70133. doi: 10.1002/cem.70133 Journal - Research Article

Deng, Y., Liang, H., Wan, A. H., Liu, C., Yan, S., Li, J., … Neumann, S., … Wan, G. (2026). Dual-system engineered bacteria and dendritic cells enable precise intratumoral IL-12 delivery and potent antitumor immunity. Cell Reports Medicine, 7, 102801. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2026.102801 Journal - Research Article

Yu, C., Neumann, S., Pattison, S., & Wang, J. (2026). Global quantitative dynamics and early warning signals of hepatocellular carcinoma: Integrating theoretical modeling with experimental validation. Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 130(10), 2771-2781. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.6c00322 Journal - Research Article

Jasiak, A., Anderson, L., Neumann, S., Wasag, B., Weeks, R., Walker, L., Cunliffe, H., & Ratajska, M. (2023, September). Adaptive homeostasis as a possible non-genetic regulator of BRCA1/2 splicing in ovarian cancer. Poster session presented at the New Zealand Society for Oncology (NZSO) Conference, Napier, New Zealand. Conference Contribution - Poster Presentation (not in published proceedings)

Reynolds, A. N., Hood, F., Wilson, R., Ross, A., Neumann, S., Turner, R., Iosua, E., Katare, R., Shahin, A., Kok, Z.-y., … Coffey, S., & Mann, J. (2023). Healthy grocery delivery in the usual care for adults recovering from an acute coronary event: protocol for a three-arm randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open, 13, e074278. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-074278 Journal - Research Other

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