Staff Profile

In 2021, I graduated with a First Class Honours BSc in Biomedical Sciences from Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia (NUMed). During my studies, I received the NUMed Prize in both Stage 1 and Stage 3 for achieving the highest overall marks in the Biomedical Sciences 2+1 Programme, as well as the Vice-Chancellor’s Award in recognition of academic excellence.

From 2021 to 2025, I completed my PhD with no corrections at the Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University. My doctoral research, funded by the NC3Rs PhD Studentship and the Newcastle University Overseas Research Scholarship (NUORS), investigated the role of PD-1 in innate lymphoid cells and regulatory T cells (Tregs) within the tumour microenvironment.

Now, I am currently working as a Research Associate in the Immune Regulation Laboratory led by Dr. Shoba Amarnath, where I contribute to projects focused on Treg and innate immune regulation in cancer and inflammatory diseases.

• Articles

  • McTaggart T, Lim JX, Smith KJ, Heaney B, McDonald D, Hulme G, Hussain R, Coxhead J, Degnan AE, Isaacs J, Pratt A, Amarnath S. Deep phenotyping of T regulatory cells in psoriatic arthritis highlights targetable mechanisms of disease. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2025, 301(1), 108059.
  • McTaggart T, Lim JX, Smith KJ, Heaney B, McDonald D, Hulme G, Hussain R, Coxhead J, Mann DA, Sayer AA, Granic A, Amarnath S. Deciphering Novel Communication Patterns in T Regulatory Cells From Very Old Adults. Aging Cell 2025, epub ahead of print.
  • Lim JX, Lai CY, Mallett GE, McDonald D, Hulme G, Laba S, Shapanis A, Payne M, Patterson W, Alexander M, Coxhead J, Filby A, Plummer R, Lovat PE, Sciume G, Healy E, Amarnath S. Programmed cell death-1 receptor-mediated regulation of Tbet⁺NK1.1^- innate lymphoid cells within the tumor microenvironment. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2023, 120(18), e2216587120.