Meet the Principal Investigator
Todd Aguilera, M.D., Ph.D.
Todd Aguilera, M.D., Ph.D., is a physician-scientist trained as a radiation oncologist with expertise in molecular engineering, molecular imaging, the tumor microenvironment, and tumor immunology.
Dr. Aguilera completed the Medical Scientist Training Program in 2011 at the University of California San Diego. He obtained his Ph.D. in 2009 in Dr. Roger Y. Tsien's laboratory, which received the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. His Ph.D. work focused on engineering and validating activatable peptide-based probes to target the tumor microenvironment. Molecules that stemmed from his work are currently being tested in clinical trials for fluorescence-guided surgery of breast cancer.
After an internal medicine internship in San Diego, he joined the Radiation Oncology Residency program at Stanford University. He worked with Dr. Amato Giaccia as a resident and postdoctoral fellow studying factors in the tumor microenvironment that promote immunologic tolerance and developing therapeutic approaches to improve immunotherapy responses in solid tumors. More specifically, he is interested in intrinsic factors that prevent/suppress the anti-tumor immune response after radiation and how these factors can be reversed.
Dr. Aguilera was recruited to the Department of Radiation Oncology at UT Southwestern to establish his research group which will continue to investigate the immune microenvironment and engineer approaches to target cells and molecules that lead to immune privilege. He treats radiation oncology patients with gastrointestinal cancers, is developing laboratory projects in pancreatic cancer, and aims to establish collaborative projects with clinicians and researchers.
Outside of the lab, Dr. Aguilera enjoys spending time snowboarding, surfing (when he can escape back to California for a few days), brewing beer, and spending time with his family. His wife is also on faculty at UTSW in the Division of Neonatology. He has a young son and daughter whom he looks forward to taking to the mountains and ocean.
Current Lab Members
Derek Abbott, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Derek Abbott, Ph.D., received his Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology from Baylor College of Medicine in October 2023. His research focused on developing novel biosensor assays to detect the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals on estrogen receptor β, a key driver in several diseases. His doctoral work led to the creation of the first high-throughput screening platform for endocrine disrupting chemicals impacting ERβ. He also contributed to developing a transgenic zebrafish model for simultaneous screening of both estrogen receptor subtypes activity. Prior to his graduate studies, Dr. Abbott received his bache from Brigham Young University where his early work focused on screening natural metabolites with anti-cancer potential.
Dr. Abbott joined UT Southwestern as a postdoctoral fellow in early 2024 as part of an interdepartmental collaboration between the Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics and Radiation Oncology. Dr. Abbott’s current project aims to bring together resources and expertise from this six-PI collaborative effort to understand the molecular mechanisms of therapy resistance in colorectal cancer. His interests include lightsheet microcopy, multiplex immunofluorescence, expansion microscopy, spatial biology, pipeline development, and 3D image analysis.
Neha Barrows
Research Associate
Neha earned her bachelor's degree in biochemistry with a minor in biology from Texas Tech University in 2020. After graduating, she moved to Dallas and began working as a research assistant in a cancer drug discovery lab at UT Southwestern.
In June 2023, Neha joined the Aguilera Lab, where she focuses on utilizing CODEX multiplex immunofluorescence to explore the tumor microenvironment in human cancer tissues. Additionally, she has worked under Dr. Aguilera for the Simmons Cancer Center’s Interdisciplinary Pancreatic Cancer Program, serving as both a data manager and the leader of various quality improvement projects.
Bassel Dawod, M.D., Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher
Bassel Dawod, M.D., Ph.D., is an accomplished medical scientist and postdoctoral fellow specializing in cancer immunology and oncology-focused clinical trials. With a strong foundation in pathology, Dr. Dawod has contributed significantly to advancing immunotherapy and tumor biology. His expertise spans clinical trial design, regulatory compliance, and cross-functional collaboration, ensuring the highest standards of ethical and scientific integrity.
At UT Southwestern, Dr. Dawod is currently engaged in the INNATE clinical trial, exploring the combined effects of chemotherapy, radiation, and anti-CD40 immunotherapy on tumor microenvironments with Dr. Todd Aguilera. His prior roles include overseeing participant care and protocol adherence in the CHILD Cohort Study at McMaster University and contributing to the development of immunotherapies in clinical and preclinical settings at IMV-Inc and Dalhousie University.
A recipient of prestigious awards such as the CIHR Grant Collaboration Award, Dr. Dawod is also a prolific researcher with numerous peer-reviewed publications on topics ranging from oral tolerance and mucosal immunity to innovative imaging techniques for immune cell tracking. His commitment to translational research and mentorship continues to drive impactful advancements in oncology.
Eslam Elghonaimy, Ph.D.
Instructor
Eslam Elghonaimy, Ph.D., earned his Ph.D. in cell biology and genetics from Cairo University, Egypt, in 2016. He completed postdoctoral training at Universitätsklinikum Münster, Germany, before joining the Aguilera Lab at UT Southwestern in 2018 as a postdoctoral researcher. His research focuses on the dynamic interplay among tumor, stromal, and immune cells within the tumor microenvironment and how these interactions influence tumor initiation, progression, and therapeutic response.
Dr. Elghonaimy expanded his interests into computational biology through the UT Southwestern Bioinformatics and High-Performance Computing (BioHPC) fellowship, enabling him to integrate bioinformatics with biological research. He has developed pipelines for single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), CITE-seq, and immune repertoire analyses special genomics, applying these tools to clinical trials to explore immunotherapy and radiation therapy.
A recent highlight of his work is the co-development of INSPIRE-seq, a novel platform combining nanobody technology, phage display, and next-generation sequencing to identify immune cell nanobodies within the tumor microenvironment. Published in Nature Communications (2023), this work lays the foundation for innovative cancer therapies.
Dr. Elghonaimy’s research bridges experimental biology, computational analysis, and cutting-edge technology, aiming to uncover therapeutic targets and advance cancer drug development.
Arely Perez Rodriguez
Ph.D. Candidate
Arely received her bachelor's degree in biology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), in 2020. As an undergraduate, she worked in the labs of Drs. Anna Wu and Peter Clark, contributing to projects on cancer imaging and autoimmune disease therapies, respectively. After graduating, Arely worked as a research technician at UCLA, where she identified biomarkers for early-stage fibrosis and helped develop non-invasive diagnostic tools for tracking disease progression. She also worked in Dr. Johannes Czernin's lab, where she contributed to the development and treatment of in vivo models of PSMA-expressing prostate cancer.
Arely joined UT Southwestern's Biomedical Engineering program in 2023 and became a member of the Aguilera Lab, where she focuses on cancer immunotherapy. Her current research investigates the immunological landscape of colorectal cancer patients and explores potential combination therapies in preclinical mouse models. She aims to translate these findings into novel therapeutic strategies for improving colorectal cancer treatment.
Joshua Theriot
Ph.D. Student
Joshua earned his bachelor's degree from West Texas A&M University and his master's degree in biotechnology from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. During his master’s training, he investigated the molecular mechanisms of cation-coupled sugar transport in Salmonella typhimurium. He later studied the assembly and regulation of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Before beginning his doctoral studies, Joshua worked as a research assistant and laboratory manager at UT Southwestern, where he investigated how transposable element reactivation and type I interferon signaling within the bone marrow microenvironment contribute to clonal hematopoiesis.
Joshua joined UT Southwestern’s Immunology Graduate Program in 2025 and subsequently joined the Aguilera Lab. His current research uses CODEX multiplex immunofluorescence and spatial proteomics to characterize the tumor immune microenvironment in hepatocellular carcinoma. He is particularly interested in identifying spatial immune features associated with tumor progression and response to immunotherapy. His broader research interests include tumor immunology, innate immune signaling, spatial biology, and the development of clinically relevant biomarkers that may help guide therapeutic strategies.
| Aguilera Lab Alumni | |
|---|---|
| Name | Role |
| Beth Childs, M.D. | Research Fellow |
| Isaac Gonzalez, Ph.D. | Ph.D. Student |
| Peter Leung, Ph.D. | Medical Scientist Training Program Student |