Ian P. MacFawn

Education

• BS in Biology: The College of William & Mary
• Ph.D. in Cancer Cell Biology: West Virginia University
• Postdoctoral Scholar: University of Pittsburgh, Dept. of Immunology / UPMC Hillman Cancer Center.

Areas of Expertise

• Tumor Immunology
• Molecular Biology
• Spatial Biology

Courses Taught

• BIOL101 General Biology I
• BIOL322 The Biology of Cancer
• BIOL490 Biomedical Science of the Genome Age
• SSFT212 Science Faith Technology and Origins
• Laboratory: BIOL101, 234, 490

Selected Research

Modern scientific techniques enable us to view cell types within a patient’s tumor with unprecedented detail. Often the composition and distribution of immune cells will be prognostic or predictive of response to improved therapies. Together with GCC students of diverse technical backgrounds, we have established a biological image analysis pipeline utilizing large clinical datasets and patient samples stained using a process called multispectral immunofluorescence. Our lab synergizes immunology with bioinformatics to describe and measure cell types in human samples.

Selected Publications

• MacFawn IP, Magnon G, Gorecki G, et al. The activity of tertiary lymphoid structures in high grade serous ovarian cancer is governed by site, stroma, and cellular interactions. Cancer Cell. 2024;42(11):1864-1881.e5. doi:10.1016/j.ccell.2024.09.007
• MacFawn IP, Farris J, Pifer P, et al. Grainyhead-like-2, an epithelial master programmer, promotes interferon induction and suppresses breast cancer recurrence. Mol Immunol. 2024;170:156-169. doi:10.1016/j.molimm.2024.04.012
• Frisch SM, MacFawn IP. Type I interferons and related pathways in cell senescence. Aging Cell. 2020;19(10):e13234. doi:10.1111/acel.13234
• MacFawn IP, Wilson H, Selth LA, et al. Grainyhead-like-2 confers NK-sensitivity through interactions with epigenetic modifiers. Mol Immunol. 2019;105:137-149. doi:10.1016/j.molimm.2018.11.006

Professional Experience

• Speaker: Translational Research Cancer Center Consortium Spatial Transcriptomics Workshop: “Application of Spatial Transcriptomics to Reveal the Biology of Tertiary Lymphoid Structures in Ovarian Cancer.” 2024
• Speaker: Keystone Symposia: B Cells and Tertiary Lymphoid Structures: Emerging Targets in Cancer Therapeutics. 2023
• Young Investigator Award: Society for the Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 2022
• Postdoctoral Scholar: Cancer Immunology Training Program (NIH T32) 2020, 2022
• Attendee: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories: “Programming for Biologists”
• Member: Cure Leukaemia Cycling Club: Tour 21 Alumnus

Staff/Faculty Image
Lastname	MacFawn
Title	Assistant Professor of Biology
Grove City College Alumni
Office Phone Number	+1-724-458-2202
Email Address	MacFawnIP@gcc.edu