
Overview
Background
Maher Gandhi received his medical degree in the UK in 1989, and then trained as a haematologist, including a Fellowship in malignant haematology at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto. He was awarded a PhD in immunology at Cambridge University under Patrick Sissons. He moved to Brisbane and from 2003-2024 worked as a Senior Staff Specialist (Pre-Eminent Status) in the Haematology / Oncology Department of the Princess Alexandra Hospital. He leads his own laboratory group and has established an international reputation studying the tumour immune microenvironment in lymphoma and its manipulation, with continuous NHMRC/MRFF funding since 2005. He was Chair of Laboratory Sciences for the Australasian Leukaemia and Lymphoma Group between 2010-2016, won the prestigious Australian Society of Medical Research Clinical Research Award in 2010 and in 2012 took up the inaugural John McCaffrey Cancer Council of Queensland / Office of Health and Medical Research Clinical Research Fellowship. Between 2011-2014 he was privileged to serve as Chair of the Metro South Human Research Ethics Committee. In 2013 he was appointed Professor of Experimental Haematology, University of Queensland, based at the Translational Research Institute, in 2014 became the inaugural Leukaemia Foundation Chair of Blood Cancer Research at the University of Queensland Frazer Institute, and was appointed Cancer Program Head in 2016. In 2018 he became Executive Director and Director of Clinical Research at Mater Research. He also continues to head the Blood Cancer Research Group, which is based in Mater Research. In 2025 to current, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Translational Research Institute and its manufacturing branch TM@TRI, to serve Queenslanders by transforming health through collaborative research.
Availability
- Professor Maher Gandhi is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Medicine Surgery, University of Aberdeen
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of Cambridge
Research interests
-
Lymphoma
-
Immunotherapy
-
Biomarkers
Research impacts
The research of the Blood Cancer Research Laboratory aims to understand the basis of lymphoma; to devise new treatments which are less toxic and more effective; to establish new biomarkers which will help determine the most effective treatment strategies and to monitor response and relapse and understand the development of lymphomas. The group has a strong emphasis on patient material, which it obtains from international and national clinical collaborators. Lymphomas studied includeEBV-associated lymphomas, Hodgkin Lymphoma, PTLD, Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma, Follicular Lymphoma and amyloidosis. We utilise a broad range of approaches including genomics, transcriptomics and functional immunoassays, and are conducting a number of MRFF funded cellular therapy studies sponsored by the Australasian Leukaemia and Lymphoma Group.
The Mater Foundation, the Leukaemia Foundation, the Mark Coghlan EBV Lymphoma Project and the Brisbane Girls Grammar School Kirsten Jack Memorial Fund are thanked for their kind support.
Works
Search Professor Maher Gandhi’s works on UQ eSpace
2020
Journal Article
Risk‐adapted therapy in follicular lymphoma: is it time to FLEX ?
Tobin, Joshua W. D. and Gandhi, Maher K. (2020). Risk‐adapted therapy in follicular lymphoma: is it time to FLEX ?. American Journal of Hematology, 95 (12) ajh.26016, 1454-1456. doi: 10.1002/ajh.26016
2020
Journal Article
Cathepsin S alterations induce a tumor-promoting immune microenvironment in follicular lymphoma
Bararia, Deepak, Hildebrand, Johannes A., Stolz, Sebastian, Haebe, Sarah, Alig, Stefan, Trevisani, Christopher P., Osorio-Barrios, Francisco, Bartoschek, Michael D., Mentz, Michael, Pastore, Alessandro, Gaitzsch, Erik, Heide, Michael, Jurinovic, Vindi, Rautter, Katharina, Gunawardana, Jay, Sabdia, Muhammed B., Szczepanowski, Monika, Richter, Julia, Klapper, Wolfram, Louissaint, Abner, Ludwig, Christina, Bultmann, Sebastian, Leonhardt, Heinrich, Eustermann, Sebastian, Hopfner, Karl-Peter, Hiddemann, Wolfgang, von Bergwelt-Baildon, Michael, Steidl, Christian, Kridel, Robert ... Weigert, Oliver (2020). Cathepsin S alterations induce a tumor-promoting immune microenvironment in follicular lymphoma. Cell Reports, 31 (5) 107522, 107522. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.107522
2020
Journal Article
LAG3: a novel immune checkpoint expressed by multiple lymphocyte subsets in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
Keane, Colm, Law, Soi C., Gould, Clare, Birch, Simone, Sabdia, Muhammed B., Merida de Long, Lilia, Thillaiyampalam, Gayathri, Abro, Emad, Tobin, Joshua W., Tan, Xiaohong, Xu-Monette, Zijun Y., Young, Ken H., Gifford, Grace, Gabreilli, Sara, Stevenson, William S., Gill, Anthony, Talaulikar, Dipti, Jain, Sanjiv, Hernandez, Annette, Halliday, Sarah-Jane, Bird, Robert, Cross, Donna, Hertzberg, Mark and Gandhi, Maher K. (2020). LAG3: a novel immune checkpoint expressed by multiple lymphocyte subsets in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Blood Advances, 4 (7), 1367-1377. doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2019001390
2020
Journal Article
Reply to M. Sorigue
Tobin, Joshua W.D., Keane, Colm, Gunawardana, Jay and Gandhi, Maher K. (2020). Reply to M. Sorigue. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 38 (6), 648-649. doi: 10.1200/JCO.19.02935
2020
Journal Article
Targeting an adenosine-mediated “don’t eat me signal” augments anti-lymphoma immunity by anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody
Nakamura, Kyohei, Casey, Mika, Oey, Harald, Vari, Frank, Stagg, John, Gandhi, Maher K. and Smyth, Mark J. (2020). Targeting an adenosine-mediated “don’t eat me signal” augments anti-lymphoma immunity by anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody. Leukemia, 34 (10), 2708-2721. doi: 10.1038/s41375-020-0811-3
2019
Conference Publication
Intra-tumoral CD8+T-cells in follicular lymphoma contain large clonal expansions that are amenable to dual-checkpoint blockade
Nath, Karthik, Law, Soi C., Sabdia, Muhammed B., De Long, Lilia Merida, Shanavas, Mohamed, Tobin, Joshua W. D., Gunawardana, Jay, Vari, Frank, Halliday, Sarah-Jane, Hernandez, Annette, Cross, Donna, Bird, Robert J., Keane, Colm and Gandhi, Maher K. (2019). Intra-tumoral CD8+T-cells in follicular lymphoma contain large clonal expansions that are amenable to dual-checkpoint blockade. 61st Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American-Society-of-Hematology (ASH), Orlando, FL, United States, 7 - 10 December 2019. Washington, DC, United States: American Society of Hematology. doi: 10.1182/blood-2019-130050
2019
Journal Article
Interim Circulating Tumor DNA As a Prognostic Biomarker in the Setting of Interim PET-Based Adaptive Therapy for DLBCL
Macaulay, Charles, Alig, Stefan, Kurtz, David M., Jin, Michael C., Opat, Stephen, Soo, Joanne, Sworder, Brian, Hertzberg, Mark S., Gandhi, Maher K., Diehn, Maximilian and Alizadeh, Ash A. (2019). Interim Circulating Tumor DNA As a Prognostic Biomarker in the Setting of Interim PET-Based Adaptive Therapy for DLBCL. Blood, 134 (Supplement_1), 134. doi: 10.1182/blood-2019-131278
2019
Journal Article
EBV-microRNA-BHRF1-2-5p targets the 3'UTR of immune-checkpoint ligands PD-L1 and PD-L2
Cristino, Alexandre S., Nourse, Jamie, West, Rachael A., Sabdia, Muhammed Bilal, Law, Soi C., Gunawardana, Jay, Vari, Frank, Mujaj, Sally, Thillaiyampalam, Gayathri, Snell, Cameron, Gough, Madeline, Keane, Colm and Gandhi, Maher K. (2019). EBV-microRNA-BHRF1-2-5p targets the 3'UTR of immune-checkpoint ligands PD-L1 and PD-L2. Blood, 134 (25), 2261-2270. doi: 10.1182/blood.2019000889
2019
Journal Article
Outcomes of stage I/II follicular lymphoma in the PET era: an international study from the Australian Lymphoma Alliance
Tobin, Joshua W. D., Rule, Gabrielle, Colvin, Katherine, Calvente, Lourdes, Hodgson, David, Bell, Stephen, Dunduru, Chengetai, Gallo, James, Tsang, Erica S., Tan, Xuan, Wong, Jonathan, Pearce, Jessica, Campbell, Robert, Tneh, Shao, Shorten, Sophie, Ng, Melissa, Cochrane, Tara, Tam, Constantine S., Abro, Emad, Hawkes, Eliza, Hodges, Georgina, Kansara, Roopesh, Talaulikar, Dipti, Gilbertson, Michael, Johnston, Anna M., Savage, Kerry J., Villa, Diego, Morris, Kirk, Ratnasingam, Sumi ... Hapgood, Greg (2019). Outcomes of stage I/II follicular lymphoma in the PET era: an international study from the Australian Lymphoma Alliance. Blood Advances, 3 (19), 2804-2811. doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2019000458
2019
Journal Article
The tumour microenvironment is immuno‐tolerogenic and a principal determinant of patient outcome in EBV‐positive diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma
Keane, Colm, Tobin, Joshua, Gunawardana, Jay, Francis, Santiyagu, Gifford, Grace, Gabrielli, Sara, Gill, Anthony, Stevenson, William, Talaulikar, Dipti, Gould, Clare, Jain, Sanjiv, Birch, Simone, Hertzberg, Mark and Gandhi, Maher K. (2019). The tumour microenvironment is immuno‐tolerogenic and a principal determinant of patient outcome in EBV‐positive diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma. European Journal of Haematology, 103 (3) ejh.13274, 200-207. doi: 10.1111/ejh.13274
2019
Journal Article
Progression of disease within 24 months in follicular lymphoma is associated with reduced intratumoral immune infiltration
Tobin, Joshua W. D., Keane, Colm, Gunawardana, Jay, Mollee, Peter, Birch, Simone, Hoang, Thanh, Lee, Justina, Li, Li, Huang, Li, Murigneux, Valentine, Fink, J. Lynn, Matigian, Nicholas, Vari, Frank, Francis, Santiyagu, Kridel, Robert, Weigert, Oliver, Haebe, Sarah, Jurinovic, Vindi, Klapper, Wolfram, Steidl, Christian, Sehn, Laurie H., Law, Soi-Cheng, Wykes, Michelle N. and Gandhi, Maher K. (2019). Progression of disease within 24 months in follicular lymphoma is associated with reduced intratumoral immune infiltration. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 37 (34), 3300-3309. doi: 10.1200/JCO.18.02365
2019
Journal Article
COO and MYC/BCL2 status do not predict outcome among patients with stage I/II DLBCL: a retrospective multicenter study
Barraclough, Allison, Alzahrani, Musa, Ettrup, Marianne Schmidt, Bishton, Mark, van Vliet, Chris, Farinha, Pedro, Gould, Clare, Birch, Simone, Sehn, Laurie H., Sovani, Vishakha, Ward, Mitchell Steven, Augustson, Bradley, Biccler, Jorne, Connors, Joseph M., Scott, David W., Gandhi, Maher K., Savage, Kerry J., El-Galaly, Tarec, Villa, Diego and Cheah, Chan Yoon (2019). COO and MYC/BCL2 status do not predict outcome among patients with stage I/II DLBCL: a retrospective multicenter study. Blood Advances, 3 (13), 2013-2021. doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2019000251
2019
Journal Article
Human peripheral blood DNAM-1neg NK cells are a terminally differentiated subset with limited effector functions
Stannard, Kimberley A., Lemoine, Sébastien, Waterhouse, Nigel J., Vari, Frank, Chatenoud, Lucienne, Gandhi, Maher K., Martinet, Ludovic, Smyth, Mark J. and Guillerey, Camille (2019). Human peripheral blood DNAM-1neg NK cells are a terminally differentiated subset with limited effector functions. Blood Advances, 3 (11), 1681-1694. doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2018030676
2019
Conference Publication
EBV+ CNS lymphomas have a distinctive tumor microenvironment and genetic profile, which is amenable to combination 3rd party EBV-specific CTL and Ibrutinib therapy
Gandhi, M.K., Hoang, T., Tobin, J.W., Law, S.C., Talaulikar, D., Jain, S., Vari, F., Murigneux, V., Fink, L., Gunawardana, J., Gould, C., Oey, H., Delecluse, S., Trappe, R.U., Merida de Long, L., Sabdia, M.B., Bhagat, G., Hapgood, G., Blyth, E., Clancy, L., Casey, J., Wight, J., Hawkes, E. and Keane, C. (2019). EBV+ CNS lymphomas have a distinctive tumor microenvironment and genetic profile, which is amenable to combination 3rd party EBV-specific CTL and Ibrutinib therapy. 15th International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma, Lugano, Switzerland, 18–22 June 2019. Oxford, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons. doi: 10.1002/hon.91_2629
2019
Journal Article
Biology and therapy of primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma: current status and future directions
Lees, Charlotte, Keane, Colm, Gandhi, Maher K. and Gunawardana, Jay (2019). Biology and therapy of primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma: current status and future directions. British Journal of Haematology, 185 (1), 25-41. doi: 10.1111/bjh.15778
2019
Journal Article
Simple, rapid and inexpensive typing of common HLA class I alleles for immunological studies
Law, Soi Cheng, Haigh, Oscar L., Walpole, Carina M., Keane, Colm, Miles, John, Gandhi, Maher K., Radford, Kristen J. and Steptoe, Raymond J. (2019). Simple, rapid and inexpensive typing of common HLA class I alleles for immunological studies. Journal of Immunological Methods, 465, 72-76. doi: 10.1016/j.jim.2018.12.002
2019
Conference Publication
B2M Gene Expression Reflects an Immunologically Active Tumor Microenvironment in DLBCL
Gould, Clare, Keane, Colm, Murigneux, Valentine, Oey, Harald, Ellis, Jonathan, Birch, Simone, Gunawardana, Jay, Talaulikar, Dipti, Hertzberg, Mark S., Jones, Kimberley and Gandhi, Maher K. (2019). B2M Gene Expression Reflects an Immunologically Active Tumor Microenvironment in DLBCL. ASH Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL, United States, 7-10 December 2019. Washington, DC, United States: American Society of Hematology. doi: 10.1182/blood-2019-126537
2018
Journal Article
Epigenetically reprogrammed methylation landscape drives the DNA self-assembly and serves as a universal cancer biomarker
Sina, Abu Ali Ibn, Carrascosa, Laura G., Liang, Ziyu, Grewal, Yadveer S., Wardiana, Andri, Shiddiky, Muhammad J. A., Gardiner, Robert A., Samaratunga, Hemamali, Gandhi, Maher K., Scott, Rodney J., Korbie, Darren and Trau, Matt (2018). Epigenetically reprogrammed methylation landscape drives the DNA self-assembly and serves as a universal cancer biomarker. Nature Communications, 9 (1) 4915, 4915. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-07214-w
2018
Conference Publication
A critical role for intratumoral and circulating LAG3 in classical Hodgkin Lymphoma: analysis from the Rathl prospective phase III international clinical trial
Abro, Emad Uddin, Law, Soi C., Keane, Colm, Birch, Simone, Sabdia, Muhammed Bilal, Tobin, Joshua W. D., Johnson, Peter, Trotman, Judith, Berkahn, Leanne, Fulham, Michael, Anderson, Richard A., Saunderson, Anne L., Gunawardana, Jay, Cross, Donna, Hernandez, Annette, Halliday, Sarah-Jane, Bird, Robert, Law, W. P., Gill, Devinder and Gandhi, Maher K. (2018). A critical role for intratumoral and circulating LAG3 in classical Hodgkin Lymphoma: analysis from the Rathl prospective phase III international clinical trial. 60th ASH Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA United States, 1-4 December 2020. Washington, DC United States: American Society of Hematology. doi: 10.1182/blood-2018-99-112008
2018
Journal Article
Circulating cell-free miR-494 and miR-21 are disease response biomarkers associated with interim-positron emission tomography response in patients with diffuse large b-cell lymphoma
Cui, Qingyan, Vari, Frank, Cristino, Alexandre S., Salomon, Carlos, Rice, Gregory E., Sabdia, Muhammed B., Guanzon, Dominic, Palma, Carlos, Mathew, Marina, Talaulikar, Dipti, Jain, Sanjiv, Han, Erica, Hertzberg, Mark S., Gould, Clare, Crooks, Pauline, Thillaiyampalam, Gayathri, Keane, Colm and Gandhi, Maher K. (2018). Circulating cell-free miR-494 and miR-21 are disease response biomarkers associated with interim-positron emission tomography response in patients with diffuse large b-cell lymphoma. Oncotarget, 9 (78), 34644-34657. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.26141
Funding
Current funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Maher Gandhi is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
Impact of genetics upon the tumour microenvironment in Follicular Lymphoma
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Joshua Tobin, Dr Soi Law, Associate Professor Colm Keane
-
Doctor Philosophy
Personalised therapy for lymphoma
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Honorary Professor Kristen Radford
-
Doctor Philosophy
Metabolic Reprogramming of Malignant B-cells Impairs Immune-Fitness of Intratumoral T-Cells in Follicular Lymphoma
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Joshua Tobin, Dr Soi Law
-
Doctor Philosophy
Personalised therapy for lymphoma
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Honorary Professor Kristen Radford
-
Doctor Philosophy
Impact of genetics upon the tumour microenvironment in Follicular Lymphoma
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Joshua Tobin, Dr Soi Law, Associate Professor Colm Keane
-
Master Philosophy
Developing Companion Biomarkers Application in Follicular Lymphoma
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Adam Ewing, Dr Joshua Tobin
-
Doctor Philosophy
Development of novel vaccines for cancer immunotherapy
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Kelvin Tuong, Honorary Professor Kristen Radford
-
Doctor Philosophy
Utilising alternative cytokine receptor signalling for enhanced cell-based cancer immunotherapy.
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Soi Law, Dr Joshua Tobin
-
Doctor Philosophy
Investigations in the development of cord blood derived, GMP grade cellular immunotherapies
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Honorary Professor Kristen Radford
Completed supervision
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
A Comprehensive Study of Intratumoural T-cells in Follicular Lymphoma
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Soi Law, Associate Professor Colm Keane
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
Clinical and Prognostic Tools to Improve Frontline Management Strategies in Follicular Lymphoma
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Colm Keane
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
The impact of deficient antigen presentation on the tumour microenvironment of diffuse large B cell lymphoma
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Colm Keane
-
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
A LABORATORY STUDY OF PRIMARY CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM LYMPHOMA
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Colm Keane
-
2016
Master Philosophy
Killer cell Immunoglobulin-like Receptors in Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP)
Principal Advisor
-
2013
Doctor Philosophy
Novel strategies for monitoring, treating and preventing Epstein Barr virus-associated Lymphomas
Principal Advisor
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Characterising miRNA - gene network associated with natural killer cell activation
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Soi Law
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
Deciphering the structure and function of class I cytokine receptors: GHR and GP130
Associate Advisor
-
2013
Doctor Philosophy
IRE1-mediated splicing of xbp1 in Natural Killer cells
Associate Advisor
Media
Enquiries
Contact Professor Maher Gandhi directly for media enquiries about:
- Biomarkers
- Immunotherapy
- Lymphoma
Need help?
For help with finding experts, story ideas and media enquiries, contact our Media team: