DrKikkeri Naresh

My area of expertise is haematopathology with a focus on lymphomas, bone marrow pathology and molecular pathology. I have been in the field of haematopathology for over 25 years, and I have worked/trained across three continents (Europe, Asia and North America). At the Hammersmith Hospital / Imperial College, I lead diagnostics, translational research and training in haematopathology. My referral practice caters to haematopathologists across the UK, and to many other haematopathologists outside of UK. I am the current Chair of the British Lymphoma Pathology Group (BLPG). Through my activities in BLPG and Royal College of Pathologists, I play a critical role in improving standards of training and practice of haematopathology in the UK. I have over 240 publications, majority of which are in the field of haematopathology. In haematopathology research, my collaborations extend across the UK, and I also collaborate with investigators and institutions in Europe, United States, Asia and Africa. I am a firm believer in global medicine and science and in fostering international collaboration to promote translational research and training in haematopathology and in other branches of medicine.

At Imperial, I have been responsible for building the Specialist Integrated Haematological Malignancy Diagnostic Service (SIHMDS) at Imperial. This is a centralised service for a large number of hospitals in and around London. I have also led the development of a supra-regional / national lymphoma referral service at the Hammersmith Hospital and supports diagnosis of challenging cases from across the country. I also lead on molecular diagnostic services and on genomics at Imperial.

I have been responsible for leading the NIHR’s Clinical Academic Training programme in Histopathology at the Hammersmith Hospital / Imperial since its inception in 2006. Through this, I have been mentoring and training the clinical academics of the future. I have other major commitments in education – clinical training in histopathology & haematology; postgraduate education (PhD, MRes & MSc) and undergraduate education. I support the specialised training of haematopathologists from all over UK and rest of the world. I contribute to education in haematopathology by lecturing in many local, regional, national and international meetings.

I also lead activities of cellular and molecular pathology in the Imperial Biomedical Research Centre. My primary research interest and those that I drive, pertain to translational research. I also support other investigators undertaking translational and basic research. Most of the research that I drive is focussed on lymphoid malignancies. I also dwell to a lesser extent on plasma cell, myeloid and other haematological malignancies. My translational research interests can be summarised under:

- Genomics of B cell lymphomas- Genomics of T cell lymphomas- Biology of Immune deficiency lymphoid proliferations including proliferations in post-transplant and HIV settings. - Biology of Hodgkin lymphoma- Role of micro-environment in maintenance and evolution of malignant lymphoid populations- Biology of oncogenic viruses in lymphomagenesis and patient outcomes- Early steps and lesions in lymphomagenesis and pathways of evolution- Developing diagnostic algorithms using immunohistochemistry and other ancillary tools for lymphomas.- Identification of unique subtypes of lymphomas and lymphoid proliferations leading to refinements in classification of disease- Establishing new antibodies in the diagnosis of different lymphoma categories.- Biomarker discovery – for stratifying haematological malignancies- Correlation of immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry in diagnostic haemato-oncology- Refining criteria for diagnosis on bone marrow trephine biopsies- Disease evolution following stem cell transplantation- Epidemiology and molecular epidemiology of lymphomas- Myeloma research

I have been in various leadership positions at all levels – local, regional, national and international.