Dr Dimitra Lamprinaki

Biography

My research addresses how the gut microbiota shapes host immune responses, and how that interaction contributes to colorectal cancer. I work across both mechanistic and translational questions, including whether the resulting host responses can be used to detect disease earlier. I am particularly interested in the human receptors that mediate recognition between bacteria and the immune system, the lectins, and primarily the sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-like lectins (Siglecs).

I completed my PhD at the Quadram Institute Bioscience in 2021, funded by the Norwich Research Park BBSRC Doctoral Training Programme, studying the role of lectins in communication between the gut microbiota and the host immune system. I then joined a laboratory at the University of Alberta as a postdoctoral fellow, where I developed my expertise in Siglec biology. On returning to Quadram I worked on a proof-of-concept project funded by Bowel Cancer UK while running the Institute’s flow cytometry facility.

I now hold a QIB Early Career Fellowship, which enables me to develop an independent research direction, and a QIB Clinical Seed Corn Fund award examining the effect of diet on the microbiota and host immune profile in early-onset colorectal cancer.