Prof Pshezhetskiy has received an MSc (summa cum laude) from Lomonosov Moscow State University in 2000. He has completed his PhD in Moscow State/Montreal Universities in 2003 and has carried out post-doctoral research in Paul Sabatier University, Toulouse (2003-2005) and CNRS Institute of Structural Biology and Pharmacology, Toulouse (2005-2006). During this period, he also worked as a visiting scientist at McGill University, Canada. In 2006 Prof Pshezhetskiy joined Imperial College London as a Research Fellow/Head of the Tumour Microenvironment and Chemotherapy group.  Since April 2012 he has held an Honorary Senior Lectureship at the Norwich Medical School, UEA. His current research interests include the molecular mechanisms of cancer pathogenesis, inflammatory response, cancer biomarkers and novel targeted therapies.

Prof. Pshezhetskiy is involved in teaching and supervision, having supervised numerous MSc, MRes, and PhD projects. He acts as a PhD thesis examiner at Imperial College London and the University of Kent and serves as a narrator and question reviewer for Imperial College/Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Singapore.   

Prof Pshezhetskiy is a member of the editorial board for several journals, including the American Journal of Cancer Research, Cancers, Front Oncology. He acts as a reviewer for many international scientific journals (JCO, Oncogene, etc), trusts (such as Wellcome trust) and research councils (such as MRC).

Prof Pshezhetskiy is a recipient of many prizes and awards including: EACR Mike Price young scientist award 2005, Wellcome Trust Value in People award 2011, BACR AstraZeneca Young Scientist Frank Rose Award and Lecture at NCRI 2011, Japanese Society for Promoting Science invitation fellowship, 2012, Foulkes fellowship for excellence in academic medicine 2012-2015, Berkeley Research Fellowship, UCL 2016, and University of East Anglia, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Innovation prize, 2018, Winner AstraZeneca Start-up Challenge, 2020, Best Paper of the Year Award, Cancers, 2025.

Epigenetic changes are a powerful regulator of inflammatory and metabolic processes (1). Chromosomal loops are the 3D chromatin structures that exist in all living cells and determine gene expression and genome network cross-regulation (2). We have developed a novel epigenetic assay (EpiSwitch® Explorer Assay), a bespoke design based on Agilent SurePrint 1 M array,  that allows simultaneous screening for 10⁶ of 3D chromosomal conformations (CCs) in the circulating blood cells (3). Using EpiSwitch® technology, we have identified epigenetic signatures correlating to metabolic conditions and neuroinflammatory such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (4) and inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (5). In two recent studies, we have identified chromosome conformations specific for the response to PD-1/PD-L1 immune therapy (6) and urothelial cancer.

Interestingly, although the 3D genomic regulatory architecture encompasses the whole genome, by mapping the top 3D genomic biomarkers to the closest genetic loci captured by their topological control (within 3Kb), it is possible to broaden the biological insights into genes, pathways and protein networks under the influence of 3D genomic regulation and associated cellular phenotype,  contributing to the pathology of a disease and identify potential therapeutic strategies.

In a recent study we have used EpiSwitch® Explorer array platform and Machine learning algorithms to predict how individuals respond to COVID-19 infection. We have developed a blood based prognostic test to predict the severity of infection and  3D genomic markers identified potential therapeutic treatments, in biological pathways with direct relevance to immune system function including T-cell signalling, macrophage-stimulating protein (MSP)-RON signalling, and calcium signalling (7). EpiSwitch®-based commercial tests are now available to diagnose prostate cancer with 94% accuracy (PSE test) (8) and response to immune checkpoint inhibitors across 14 cancers with 85% accuracy (CiRT test) (6).

1. Qiu Y, Feng D, Jiang W, Zhang T, Lu Q, Zhao M. 3D genome organization and epigenetic regulation in autoimmune diseases. Frontiers in immunology. 2023;14:1196123. PubMed PMID: 37346038. Pubmed Central PMCID: 10279977.
2. Feinberg AP. The Key Role of Epigenetics in Human Disease Prevention and Mitigation. N Engl J Med. 2018 Apr 5;378(14):1323-34. PubMed PMID: 29617578.
3. Mukhopadhyay S, Ramadass AS, Akoulitchev A, Gordon S. Formation of distinct chromatin conformation signatures epigenetically regulate macrophage activation. International immunopharmacology. 2014 Jan;18(1):7-11. PubMed PMID: 24211766.
4. Salter M, Corfield E, Ramadass A, Grand F, Green J, Westra J, et al. Initial Identification of a Blood-Based Chromosome Conformation Signature for Aiding in the Diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. EBioMedicine. 2018 Jul;33:169-84. PubMed PMID: 29941342. Pubmed Central PMCID: 6085506.
5. Carini C, Hunter E, Scottish Early Rheumatoid Arthritis Inception cohort I, Ramadass AS, Green J, Akoulitchev A, et al. Chromosome conformation signatures define predictive markers of inadequate response to methotrexate in early rheumatoid arthritis. Journal of translational medicine. 2018 Jan 29;16(1):18. PubMed PMID: 29378619. Pubmed Central PMCID: 5789697.
6. Hunter E, Salter M, Powell R, Dring A, Naithani T, Chatziioannou ME, et al. Development and Validation of Blood-Based Predictive Biomarkers for Response to PD-1/PD-L1 Checkpoint Inhibitors: Evidence of a Universal Systemic Core of 3D Immunogenetic Profiling across Multiple Oncological Indications. Cancers. 2023 May 10;15(10). PubMed PMID: 37345033. Pubmed Central PMCID: 10216232.
7. Hunter E, Koutsothanasi C, Wilson A, Santos FC, Salter M, Powell R, et al. 3D genomic capture of regulatory immuno-genetic profiles in COVID-19 patients for prognosis of severe COVID disease outcome. bioRxiv. 2021:2021.03.14.435295.
8. Pchejetski D, Hunter E, Dezfouli M, Salter M, Powell R, Green J, et al. Circulating Chromosome Conformation Signatures Significantly Enhance PSA Positive Predicting Value and Overall Accuracy for Prostate Cancer Detection. Cancers. 2023 Jan 29;15(3). PubMed PMID: 36765779. Pubmed Central PMCID: 9913359.