Assoc. Prof. Beavis completed his PhD at Imperial College London in 2010, studying the role of regulatory T cells in rheumatoid arthritis and joined the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in 2011 to work in the Cancer Immunology Program. He formed an independent research group in 2018, where his team is focused on the development of novel cancer immunotherapies.

His team has a significant interest in developing novel CAR T cell technology to enhance their effectiveness in solid cancer, guided by the philosophy that engagement of host immunity is key for effective responses. Their work has been published in leading journals including Nature Immunology, The Journal of Clinical Investigation and Nature Communications. Recently his team have developed expertise in CRISPR/Cas9 technology enabling them to engineer CAR T cells to overcome tumour-induced immunosuppression. He is a fundamental cancer researcher and immunologist but his work has a strong translational focus. His collaborative research studies with industry partners and clinicians have provided the foundation for translation of his work, including the development of novel CAR T cell technologies for clinical use in conjunction with the Centre of Excellence in Cellular Immunotherapy. Other major focuses of Paul’s group include improving the trafficking of immune cells to ‘cold’ tumours and understanding the mechanisms of adenosine-mediated suppression.

Paul holds a Mid-Career Fellowship from the Victorian Cancer Agency and his work is supported by funding from NHMRC, Cancer Australia, NBCF and Cancer Council Victoria.