Reza Mirzaei

Area of Study / Keywords

Immunology of tumor microenvironment - Immunotherapy

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About

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Oncology at the University of Alberta, with a cross-appointment in the Department of Medical Microbiology & Immunology (MMI), and a Research Scientist at the Cross Cancer Institute. I established my independent research program at the University of Alberta in 2024, where my lab investigates the mechanisms underlying tumor progression, tumor–immune interactions, and resistance to cancer immunotherapy.

I received my MSc and PhD training in Immunology, followed by postdoctoral training at the University of Calgary, where I studied the brain tumor microenvironment. I subsequently continued my research career at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, where my work focused on tumor immunology, tumor–microenvironment interactions, and cancer immunotherapy.

My current research program integrates cancer immunology, functional genomics, CRISPR-based screening, and single-cell and spatial technologies, with a particular focus on glioblastoma and colorectal cancer. A major interest of my lab is understanding how myeloid cells, particularly tumor-associated macrophages, interact with heterogeneous cancer cell populations to shape anti-tumor immunity and therapeutic resistance.

Our long-term goal is to translate these discoveries into new therapeutic targets, biomarkers, and strategies to improve the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy.

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Research

Our lab investigates the cellular and molecular mechanisms that drive tumor progression and resistance to immunotherapy, with a particular focus on the tumor microenvironment (TME) in glioblastoma and colorectal cancer. We use cutting-edge approaches, including CRISPR-based functional screening, single-cell and spatial profiling, and multi-omics technologies, to uncover interactions between cancer cells and the immune microenvironment.

A major focus of our research is understanding how myeloid cells, particularly tumor-associated macrophages, shape anti-tumor immunity and influence therapeutic response. We also investigate tumor heterogeneity and clonal evolutionto determine how distinct cancer cell populations interact with the immune system and contribute to treatment resistance.

By integrating functional genomics with advanced molecular and computational approaches, our goal is to identify new therapeutic vulnerabilities and biomarkers and develop strategies to improve the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy.

Manoj Kumar Mishra, Jianxiong Wang, Reza Mirzaei, Rigel Chan, Helvira Melo, Ping Zhang, Chang-Chun Ling, Aldo Bruccoleri, Lin Tang, V. Wee Yong

Cells. 2022 January; 10.3390/cells11030440

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Namdar A, Mirzaei R, Memarnejadian A, Boghosian R, Samadi M, Mirzaei HR, Farajifard H, Zavar M, Azadmanesh K, Elahi S, Noorbakhsh F, Rezaei A, Hadjati J

Cancer immunology, immunotherapy : CII. 2018 March; 10.1007/s00262-017-2088-6

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Khosravianfar N, Hadjati J, Namdar A, Boghozian R, Hafezi M, Ashourpour M, Kheshtchin N, Banitalebi M, Mirzaei R, Razavi SA

Iranian journal of allergy, asthma, and immunology. 2018 February;

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Sarkar S, Mirzaei R, Zemp FJ, Wei W, Senger DL, Robbins SM, Yong VW

Cancer research. 2017 June; 10.1158/0008-5472.can-16-2171

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Arab S, Kheshtchin N, Ajami M, Ashurpoor M, Safvati A, Namdar A, Mirzaei R, Mousavi Niri N, Jadidi-Niaragh F, Ghahremani MH, Hadjati J

Tumour biology : the journal of the International Society for Oncodevelopmental Biology and Medicine. 2017 March; 10.1177/1010428317695021

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Arjomand Fard N, Tabrizian N, Mirzaei R, Hadjati J, Tofighi Zavareh F, Salehi Nodeh AR, Mirshafiey A

Iranian journal of public health. 2017 February;

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Mortezagholi S, Babaloo Z, Rahimzadeh P, Namdari H, Ghaedi M, Gharibdoost F, Mirzaei R, Bidad K, Salehi E

Immunopharmacology and immunotoxicology. 2017 February; 10.1080/08923973.2016.1263859

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Mirzaei R, Sarkar S, Yong VW

Trends in immunology. 2017 February; 10.1016/j.it.2016.11.005

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Eftekhari R, Esmaeili R, Mirzaei R, Bidad K, de Lima S, Ajami M, Shirzad H, Hadjati J, Majidzadeh-A K

Cancer cell international. 2017 January; 10.1186/s12935-017-0492-9

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Kheshtchin N, Arab S, Ajami M, Mirzaei R, Ashourpour M, Mousavi N, Khosravianfar N, Jadidi-Niaragh F, Namdar A, Noorbakhsh F, Hadjati J

Cancer immunology, immunotherapy : CII. 2016 October; 10.1007/s00262-016-1879-5

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Mirzaei R, Saei A, Torkashvand F, Azarian B, Jalili A, Noorbakhsh F, Vaziri B, Hadjati J

Tumour biology : the journal of the International Society for Oncodevelopmental Biology and Medicine. 2016 August; 10.1007/s13277-016-4933-1

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Eslami S, Hadjati J, Motevaseli E, Mirzaei R, Farashi Bonab S, Ansaripour B, Khoramizadeh MR

APMIS : acta pathologica, microbiologica, et immunologica Scandinavica. 2016 August; 10.1111/apm.12556

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Fard NA, Tabrizian N, Mirzaei R, Motamed N, Zavareh FT, Mirshafiey A

Current drug discovery technologies. 2016 January; 10.2174/1570163813666160621120821

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Boghozian R, Saei A, Mirzaei R, Jamali A, Vaziri B, Razavi A, Hadjati J

APMIS : acta pathologica, microbiologica, et immunologica Scandinavica. 2015 September; 10.1111/apm.12420

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Mirzaei R, Arab S, Motamedi M, Amari A, Hadjati J

Iranian journal of allergy, asthma, and immunology. 2015 June;

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Saei A, Boghozian R, Mirzaei R, Jamali A, Vaziri B, Hadjati J

Iranian journal of allergy, asthma, and immunology. 2014 February;

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Arab S, Mojarrad M, Motamedi M, Mirzaei R, Modarressi MH, Hadjati J

Scandinavian journal of immunology. 2013 July; 10.1111/sji.12058

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Pourgholaminejad A, Jamali A, Samadi-Foroushani M, Amari A, Mirzaei R, Ansaripour B, Khansari N, Aghasadeghi MR, Baban B, Hadjati J

Cellular immunology. 2011 January; 10.1016/j.cellimm.2011.08.001

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