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Parisa Nikeghbal, PhD

Postdoctoral Research Associate
  • Weger-Lucarelli Laboratory

PhD, Biomedical Sciences, 2025
University of New Mexico School of Medicine
Albuquerque, NM

BS, Medical Laboratory Sciences, 2019
Azad University
Iran

  • Cancer immunology and tumor microenvironment, with a focus on tumor-associated macrophages and tumor–immune interactions.
  • Oncolytic virotherapy and virus–tumor interactions, including mechanisms of viral replication, tumor-cell death, therapeutic response, and antitumor immune activity.
  • Therapeutic resistance and translational oncology, including chemotherapy response and mechanisms that influence treatment outcomes.
  • Patient-derived and 3D disease models, including tumor organoids, multicellular cancer models, and iPSC culture and directed differentiation for translational research.

2026-present
Postdoctoral Fellow, Oncolytic Virotherapy & Translational Cancer Biology
Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology
Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA

2025-2026
Postdoctoral Fellow, Translational Medicine, Human Disease Modeling & iPSC Differentiation
NSF COMPASS Center
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA

2022-2055
PhD Graduate Research Scientist, Oncology & Tumor Immunology
Department of Pathology and Comprehensive Cancer Center
University of New Mexico School of Medicine
Albuquerque, NM

2021
Graduate Research Assistant, Immunology & Respiratory Biology
Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
University of New Mexico School of Medicine
Albuquerque, NM

2020-2021
Clinical Research Assistant, Clinical Evidence Synthesis & Immunology
Department of Immunology
Tehran University of Medical Sciences
Tehran, Iran

2020-2021
Research Assistant, Clinical & Population Health Research
Department of Public Health
Tehran University of Medical Sciences
Tehran, Iran

2019-2021
Medical Laboratory Scientist/Oncology Section Manager
Dr. Pishva Diagnostic & Clinical Laboratory
Oncology Diagnostic Center
Shiraz, Iran

2019-2020
Clinical Research Assistant, Blood Safety & Infectious Disease
Shiraz University of Medical Sciences
Shiraz, Iran

2018-2019
Clinical Laboratory Scientist, Full-Time Clinical Internship
Dr. Faghihi Hospital
Shiraz University of Medical Sciences
Shiraz, Iran

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