Adele has been a member of our team since 2019. An organic chemist by training, Adele’s scientific curiosity steered her towards translational research. During her PhD, she investigated the role of Epstein-Barr Virus in epithelial cancers, and subsequently TGFβ-signaling in breast cancer during her post-doctoral career. Adele’s curiosity is piqued by determining how a molecular target can be leveraged for the treatment of disease, and in delineating the biological mechanism of action of investigational therapeutics.
Adele has led several translational and process development teams to take novel therapeutic platforms to clinical trial for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. In addition to several peer-reviewed publications, Adele is co-inventor on several patents in the field of T cell therapy.
More recently, Adele has held several commercial roles and now leads Commercial team where she works closely with the R&D, Sales and Operations, and is responsible for the company’s positioning and strategic direction.
“My various roles and responsibilities at RoukenBio have contributed to the development of several innovative therapeutic strategies. It’s a privilege to be involved in these meaningful projects and play a small part in their progress towards the clinic. It’s fascinating to understand the many approaches we can take to imitate or co-opt the immune system for the treatment of human disease.”- Adele Hannigan.
Resources
Research Posters
28 October 2026
|5 min read
This research poster presents a human antigen-specific in vitro CD8+ T-cell exhaustion model designed to replicate chronic tumour antigen stimulation. By assessing inhibitory receptor expression, cytokine production and cytolytic activity, the model supports investigation of T-cell exhaustion and evaluation of candidate immunomodulators.
Insights
30 September 2026
|12 min read
What in vitro pharmacology data do you need for a biologic IND filing? A practical guide to mechanism of action, potency, species relevance, immune safety and ICH S6(R1).
Research Posters
22 October 2025
|4 min read
Antigen-specific T cells are essential for evaluating immune-modulating therapies, but sourcing them for research is challenging. This blog highlights the development of ‘Thaw & Go’ transgenic TCR-T cell banks and methods to expand endogenous antigen-specific T cells, providing ready-to-use resources for high-throughput assessment of immune modulators and advancing drug discovery efforts.
