Rate My Professor Amir Ghaemmaghami

Professor Amir Ghaemmaghami is Professor of Immunology & Immuno-bioengineering in the School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences at The University of Nottingham. A clinician by training, he holds MD and PhD qualifications in Immunology from the University of Nottingham, along with FRCPath and FHEA designations. With over two decades at the institution, he leads the Ghaemmaghami research group, focusing on the interface of immunology and bioengineering. His career encompasses principal investigator and co-investigator roles on numerous funded projects, securing over £30 million in grants since 2006 from organizations including EPSRC, BBSRC, MRC, Asthma UK, NC3Rs, and the European Commission. Recent awards include a Horizon Europe grant and leadership of a UKRI-funded project on human disease modelling.

The Ghaemmaghami group's research centers on cellular immunology, particularly dendritic cell and macrophage biology, immune-instructive materials, molecular mechanisms of allergy, and immune-competent tissue models. Key themes include immune modulation through surface-engineered bio-instructive materials to promote healing, reduce fibrosis, and mitigate foreign body responses to implants; development of novel biomimetic 3D tissue models for disease simulation, drug testing, and toxicity assessment; and investigation of host-environment interactions at interfaces involving antigen-presenting cells and epithelial cells with allergens or pathogens. Techniques employed encompass primary cell cultures, multi-parametric flow cytometry, gene silencing, and 3D scaffold co-cultures. Notable contributions include advancements in immunotherapy, vaccination strategies, wound healing materials, and lung-on-a-chip models. Key publications feature 'Immune Modulation by Design: Using Topography to Control Immune Cell Activation State' (Advanced Healthcare Materials, 2020), 'Immune-Instructive Polymers Control Macrophage Phenotype and Function' (Matter, 2020), 'miR-511-3p modulates allergen-induced airway inflammation through C-type lectin receptors' (Journal of Immunology, 2019), and 'A reversed-engineered, human alveolar lung-on-a-chip' (PNAS, 2021). His work has significant impact in biomaterials discovery, implant rejection reduction, and allergic disease research.