Meet Argyro Olympitis, a Wellcome Trust Immunomatrix in Complex Disease PhD student exploring how matrix changes in glioblastoma influence immune responses and cancer progression. From a childhood in the British Virgin Islands to competing on University Challenge, Argyro shares her research journey, her passion for neuroimmunology, and what makes the community at the Becker so special.

Please introduce yourself and tell us about your background in research.

I grew up in the British Virgin Islands and have always been obsessed with science, starting with wanting to be a marine biologist. I decided to go to the University of Liverpool to do Veterinary Science but quickly realised what I found the most interesting was pathology and immunology. After two years there, I pivoted to the University of Manchester’s Immunology BSc programme.

On the BSc course I got to really dive into immunology in a way that you often can’t on clinical programmes. Most of the lecturers and tutors on the course are also members of the Lydia Becker, so I was able to appreciate the community here quickly. The Glycobiology module led by Prof Dave Thornton and Dr Doug Dyer was actually what inspired my interest in extracellular matrix!

I completed my undergraduate research project in Dr Andrew Greenhalgh’s lab, where I got to explore neuroimmunology and loved every bit of it. After graduation, I worked at the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute with the Translational Radiobiology Group. There, I worked on understanding radiotherapy-resistance in pelvic cancers, focusing on the immunosuppressive effects of hypoxia and tissue remodelling. I then decided to apply for the Wellcome Trust Immunomatrix in Complex Disease PhD, inspired by students I’d met at the Greenhalgh lab, and here I am!

Can you tell us about the research you’re currently involved in?

I’m currently working with Prof Kevin Couper and Prof Patrick Caswell to investigate extracellular matrix changes in glioblastoma, an aggressive and incurable brain cancer. Despite recent advances in treatments, including immunotherapy, glioblastoma survival remains poor.

My PhD project is looking at how matrix changes within the tumour might modulate the immune system, and vice versa, to try to understand why these treatments ultimately fail.

What do you enjoy most about the work you do?

My favourite part about my work is the possibility – there’s no one way to answer a question. We have a lot of technologies and resources available to us here, which is really exciting and can help us investigate in new and insightful ways. Second to that is probably the people!

What’s your favourite thing about being part of the immunology community at Manchester?

The collaboration here is second-to-none and people are very passionate about what they do. Everyone is incredibly friendly, so it’s easy to ask questions and bounce ideas around. It’s cheesy but it is very inspiring.

And finally, what do you like to do in your spare time?

I really enjoy reading, especially non-fiction because I’m a sucker for a good quiz (please ask me about Catherine the Great) – I was even lucky enough to go on University Challenge!

Outside of fun fact learning, I enjoy playing rugby, have just taken up muay thai, and am also making a poor attempt at learning to play the cello.

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