Dr Vikas Duhan
Honorary Research Fellow
School of Biomedical Sciences
QIMR Berghofer
Research Fellow
Frazer Institute
Researcher biography
Dr Vikas Duhan is an emerging leader in immunology, with a research focus on the mechanisms that regulate T cell and natural killer (NK) cell responses in cancer and chronic infections. His work aims to advance next-generation immunotherapies by investigating how immune cell function is regulated and can be therapeutically harnessed. His current research explores post-transcriptional regulation and adaptor protein signalling pathways that govern T cell and NK cell function. Building on fundamental immunology, he aims to develop improved adoptive cell therapies, including CAR-T cells, to enhance anti-tumour efficacy and patient outcomes.
Dr Duhan completed his PhD in Viral Immunology at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany, followed by a Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) International Fellowship at QIMR Berghofer with Prof. Rajiv Khanna, where he developed expertise in human T cell engineering and translational cancer immunotherapy.
His work has been published in leading journals, including Nature Communications, Cancer Immunology Research, PNAS, Cell Death & Differentiation, and PLOS Pathogens. He has also contributed to the development of a commercially licensed anti-CEACAM1 therapeutic antibody.
Journal Articles
Duhan, Vikas, Gomez, Ma. Ricci, Le, Thuy T., Rana, Shachi, Chen, Yu-Chen Enya, Balakrishnan, Deepna, Kelly, Greg, Johnston, Rebecca L., Krebs, Philippe and Khanna, Rajiv (2025). FcRγ-dependent NK cell licensing through CD244 promotes antitumor immunity. Cancer Immunology Research, 13 (12), 2075-2092. doi: 10.1158/2326-6066.cir-25-0174
Krebs, Philippe, Peng, Hui and Duhan, Vikas (2023). Editorial: Natural killer cell plasticity and diversity in antiviral immunity. Frontiers in Immunology, 14 1175111, 1-4. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1175111
Friedrich, Sarah-Kim, Schmitz, Rosa, Bergerhausen, Michael, Lang, Judith, Duhan, Vikas, Hardt, Cornelia, Tenbusch, Matthias, Prinz, Marco, Asano, Kenichi, Bhat, Hilal, Hamdan, Thamer A., Lang, Philipp Alexander and Lang, Karl Sebastian (2021). Replication of Influenza A Virus in Secondary Lymphatic Tissue Contributes to Innate Immune Activation. Pathogens, 10 (5) 622, 1-12. doi: 10.3390/pathogens10050622
Duhan, Vikas and Smyth, Mark J. (2021). Innate myeloid cells in the tumor microenvironment. Current Opinion in Immunology, 69, 18-28. doi: 10.1016/j.coi.2021.01.001
Duhan, Vikas, Khairnar, Vishal, Kitanovski, Simo, Hamdan, Thamer A., Klein, Andrés D., Lang, Judith, Ali, Murtaza, Adomati, Tom, Bhat, Hilal, Friedrich, Sarah-Kim, Li, Fanghui, Krebs, Philippe, Futerman, Anthony H., Addo, Marylyn M., Hardt, Cornelia, Hoffmann, Daniel, Lang, Philipp A. and Lang, Karl S. (2021). Integrin Alpha E (CD103) Limits Virus-Induced IFN-I Production in Conventional Dendritic Cells. Frontiers in Immunology, 11 607889, 1-11. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.607889
Bhat, Hilal, Zaun, Gregor, Hamdan, Thamer A., Lang, Judith, Adomati, Tom, Schmitz, Rosa, Friedrich, Sarah-Kim, Bergerhausen, Michael, Cham, Lamin B., Li, Fanghui, Ali, Murtaza, Zhou, Fan, Khairnar, Vishal, Duhan, Vikas, Brandenburg, Tim, Machlah, Yara Maria, Schiller, Maximilian, Berry, Arshia, Xu, Haifeng, Vollmer, Jörg, Häussinger, Dieter, Thier, Beatrice, Pandyra, Aleksandra A., Schadendorf, Dirk, Paschen, Annette, Schuler, Martin, Lang, Philipp A. and Lang, Karl S. (2020). Arenavirus Induced CCL5 Expression Causes NK Cell-Mediated Melanoma Regression. Frontiers in Immunology, 11 1849, 1-9. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.01849
Friedrich, Sarah-Kim, Schmitz, Rosa, Bergerhausen, Michael, Lang, Judith, Cham, Lamin B., Duhan, Vikas, Häussinger, Dieter, Hardt, Cornelia, Addo, Marylyn, Prinz, Marco, Asano, Kenichi, Lang, Philipp Alexander and Lang, Karl Sebastian (2020). Usp18 Expression in CD169+ Macrophages is Important for Strong Immune Response after Vaccination with VSV-EBOV. Vaccines, 8 (1) 142, 1-14. doi: 10.3390/vaccines8010142
Lang, Judith, Bohn, Patrick, Bhat, Hilal, Jastrow, Holger, Walkenfort, Bernd, Cansiz, Feyza, Fink, Julian, Bauer, Michael, Olszewski, Dominik, Ramos-Nascimento, Ana, Duhan, Vikas, Friedrich, Sarah-Kim, Becker, Katrin Anne, Krawczyk, Adalbert, Edwards, Michael J., Burchert, Andreas, Huber, Magdalena, Friebus-Kardash, Justa, Göthert, Joachim R., Hardt, Cornelia, Probst, Hans Christian, Schumacher, Fabian, Köhrer, Karl, Kleuser, Burkhard, Babiychuk, Eduard B., Sodeik, Beate, Seibel, Jürgen, Greber, Urs F., Lang, Philipp A. ... Lang, Karl S. (2020). Acid ceramidase of macrophages traps herpes simplex virus in multivesicular bodies and protects from severe disease. Nature Communications, 11 (1) 1338, 1-15. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-15072-8
Adomati, Tom, Cham, Lamin B., Hamdan, Thamer A., Bhat, Hilal, Duhan, Vikas, Li, Fanghui, Ali, Murtaza, Lang, Elisabeth, Huang, Anfei, Naser, Eyad, Khairnar, Vishal, Friedrich, Sarah-Kim, Lang, Judith, Friebus-Kardash, Justa, Bergerhausen, Michael, Schiller, Maximilian, Machlah, Yara Maria, Lang, Florian, Häussinger, Dieter, Ferencik, Stanislav, Hardt, Cornelia, Lang, Philipp A. and Lang, Karl S. (2020). Dead Cells Induce Innate Anergy via Mertk after Acute Viral Infection. Cell Reports, 30 (11), 3671-3681.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.02.101
Hamdan, Thamer A., Bhat, Hilal, Cham, Lamin B., Adomati, Tom, Lang, Judith, Li, Fanghui, Murtaza, Ali, Hardt, Cornelia, Lang, Philipp A., Duhan, Vikas and Lang, Karl S. (2020). Map3k14 as a Regulator of Innate and Adaptive Immune Response during Acute Viral Infection. Pathogens, 9 (2) 96, 1-16. doi: 10.3390/pathogens9020096
Cham, Lamin B., Friedrich, Sarah-Kim, Adomati, Tom, Bhat, Hilal, Schiller, Maximilian, Bergerhausen, Michael, Hamdan, Thamer, Li, Fanghui, Machlah, Yara Maria, Ali, Murtaza, Duhan, Vikas, Lang, Karl Sebastian, Friebus-Kardash, Justa and Lang, Judith (2019). Tamoxifen protects from vesicular stomatitis virus infection. Pharmaceuticals, 12 (4) 142, 1-12. doi: 10.3390/ph12040142
Wagner, Johannes Maximilian, Reinkemeier, Felix, Wallner, Christoph, Dadras, Mehran, Huber, Julika, Schmidt, Sonja Verena, Drysch, Marius, Dittfeld, Stephanie, Jaurich, Henriette, Becerikli, Mustafa, Becker, Kathrin, Rauch, Nicole, Duhan, Vikas, Lehnhardt, Marcus and Behr, Björn (2019). Adipose-Derived Stromal Cells Are Capable of Restoring Bone Regeneration After Post-Traumatic Osteomyelitis and Modulate B-Cell Response. Stem Cells Translational Medicine, 8 (10), 1084-1091. doi: 10.1002/sctm.18-0266
Li, Kai, Neumann, Konstantin, Duhan, Vikas, Namineni, Sukumar, Hansen, Anne Louise, Wartewig, Tim, Kurgyis, Zsuzsanna, Holm, Christian K., Heikenwalder, Mathias, Lang, Karl S. and Ruland, Jürgen (2019). The uric acid crystal receptor Clec12A potentiates type I interferon responses. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116 (37), 18544-18549. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1821351116
Duhan, Vikas, Hamdan, Thamer A, Xu, Haifeng C, Shinde, Prashant, Bhat, Hilal, Li, Fanghui, Al-Matary, Yahya, Häussinger, Dieter, Bezgovsek, Judith, Friedrich, Sarah-Kim, Hardt, Cornelia, Lang, Philipp A and Lang, Karl S (2019). NK cell-intrinsic FcεRIγ limits CD8+ T-cell expansion and thereby turns an acute into a chronic viral infection. PLoS pathogens, 15 (6) e1007797. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007797
Solmaz, Gülhas, Puttur, Franz, Francozo, Marcela, Lindenberg, Marc, Guderian, Melanie, Swallow, Maxine, Duhan, Vikas, Khairnar, Vishal, Kalinke, Ulrich, Ludewig, Burkhard, Clausen, Björn E., Wagner, Hermann, Lang, Karl S. and Sparwasser, Tim D. (2019). TLR7 Controls VSV Replication in CD169+ SCS Macrophages and Associated Viral Neuroinvasion. Frontiers in immunology, 10 (MAR) 466, 1-18. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.00466
Friedrich, S-K., Lang, P. A., Friebus-Kardash, J., Duhan, V., Bezgovsek, J. and Lang, K. S. (2019). Mechanisms of lymphatic system-specific viral replication and its potential role in autoimmune disease. Clinical and Experimental Immunology, 195 (1), 64-73. doi: 10.1111/cei.13241
Bezgovsek, Judith, Gulbins, Erich, Friedrich, Sarah-Kim, Lang, Karl S. and Duhan, Vikas (2018). Sphingolipids in early viral replication and innate immune activation. Biological Chemistry, 399 (10), 1115-1123. doi: 10.1515/hsz-2018-0181
Khairnar, Vishal, Duhan, Vikas, Patil, Ashwini M., Zhou, Fan, Bhat, Hilal, Thoens, Christine, Sharma, Piyush, Adomati, Tom, Friendrich, Sarah-Kim, Bezgovsek, Judith, Dreesen, Janine D., Wennemuth, Gunther, Westendorf, Astrid M., Zelinskyy, Gennadiy, Dittmer, Ulf, Hardt, Cornelia, Timm, Jörg, Göthert, Joachim R., Lang, Philipp A., Singer, Bernhard B. and Lang, Karl S. (2018). CEACAM1 promotes CD8+ T cell responses and improves control of a chronic viral infection. Nature communications, 9 (1) 2561, 1-14. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-04832-2
Wagner, Johannes M., Jaurich, Henriette, Wallner, Christoph, Abraham, Stephanie, Becerikli, Mustafa, Dadras, Mehran, Harati, Kamran, Duhan, Vikas, Khairnar, Vishal, Lehnhardt, Marcus and Behr, Björn (2017). Diminished bone regeneration after debridement of posttraumatic osteomyelitis is accompanied by altered cytokine levels, elevated B cell activity, and increased osteoclast activity. Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 35 (11), 2425-2434. doi: 10.1002/jor.23555
Drommelschmidt, Karla, Serdar, Meray, Bendix, Ivo, Herz, Josephine, Bertling, Frederik, Prager, Sebastian, Keller, Matthias, Ludwig, Anna-Kristin, Duhan, Vikas, Radtke, Stefan, de Miroschedji, Kyra, Horn, Peter A, van de Looij, Yohan, Giebel, Bernd and Felderhoff-Müser, Ursula (2017). Mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles ameliorate inflammation-induced preterm brain injury. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 60, 220-232. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2016.11.011
Shaabani, Namir, Duhan, Vikas, Khairnar, Vishal, Gassa, Asmae, Ferrer-Tur, Rita, Häussinger, Dieter, Recher, Mike, Zelinskyy, Gennadiy, Liu, Jia, Dittmer, Ulf, Trilling, Mirko, Scheu, Stefanie, Hardt, Cornelia, Lang, Philipp A., Honke, Nadine and Lang, Karl S. (2016). CD169+ macrophages regulate PD-L1 expression via type I interferon and thereby prevent severe immunopathology after LCMV infection. Cell Death & Disease, 7 (11) e2446, 1-10. doi: 10.1038/cddis.2016.350
Gassa, Asmae, Kalkavan, Halime, Jian, Fu, Duhan, Vikas, Khairnar, Vishal, Shaabani, Namir, Honke, Nadine, Carpinteiro, Alexander, Botezatu, Lacramioara, Crivello, Pietro, Dolff, Sebastian, Ferencik, Stanislav, Häussinger, Dieter, Khandanpour, Cyrus, Fleischhauer, Katharina, Witzke, Oliver, Wahlers, Thorsten, Hardt, Cornelia, Lang, Philipp A and Lang, Karl S (2016). High Frequencies of Anti-Host Reactive CD8+ T Cells Ignore Non-Hematopoietic Antigen after Bone Marrow Transplantation in a Murine Model. Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry, 38 (4), 1343-1353. doi: 10.1159/000443078
Gassa, Asmae, Jian, Fu, Kalkavan, Halime, Duhan, Vikas, Honke, Nadine, Shaabani, Namir, Friedrich, Sarah-Kim, Dolff, Sebastian, Wahlers, Thorsten, Kribben, Andreas, Hardt, Cornelia, Lang, Philipp A., Witzke, Oliver and Lang, Karl S. (2016). IL-10 Induces T Cell Exhaustion During Transplantation of Virus Infected Hearts. Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry, 38 (3), 1171-81. doi: 10.1159/000443067
Shaabani, Namir, Khairnar, Vishal, Duhan, Vikas, Zhou, Fan, Tur, Rita Ferrer, Häussinger, Dieter, Recher, Mike, Tumanov, Alexei V, Hardt, Cornelia, Pinschewer, Daniel, Christen, Urs, Lang, Philipp A, Honke, Nadine and Lang, Karl S (2016). Two separate mechanisms of enforced viral replication balance innate and adaptive immune activation. Journal of autoimmunity, 67, 82-89. doi: 10.1016/j.jaut.2015.10.004
Duhan, Vikas, Khairnar, Vishal, Friedrich, Sarah-Kim, Zhou, Fan, Gassa, Asmae, Honke, Nadine, Shaabani, Namir, Gailus, Nicole, Botezatu, Lacramioara, Khandanpour, Cyrus, Dittmer, Ulf, Häussinger, Dieter, Recher, Mike, Hardt, Cornelia, Lang, Philipp A. and Lang, Karl S. (2016). Virus-specific antibodies allow viral replication in the marginal zone, thereby promoting CD8+ T-cell priming and viral control. Scientific reports, 6 19191, 1-14. doi: 10.1038/srep19191
Shaabani, Namir, Honke, Nadine, Dolff, Sebastian, Görg, Boris, Khairnar, Vishal, Merches, Katja, Duhan, Vikas, Metzger, Sabine, Recher, Mike, Barthuber, Carmen, Hardt, Cornelia, Proksch, Peter, Häussinger, Dieter, Witzke, Oliver, Lang, Philipp A and Lang, Karl S (2015). IFN-γ licenses CD11b(+) cells to induce progression of systemic lupus erythematosus. Journal of autoimmunity, 62, 11-21. doi: 10.1016/j.jaut.2015.05.007
Merches, Katja, Khairnar, Vishal, Knuschke, Torben, Shaabani, Namir, Honke, Nadine, Duhan, Vikas, Recher, Mike, Navarini, Alexander A, Hardt, Cornelia, Häussinger, Dieter, Tümmler, Burkhard, Gulbins, Erich, Futerman, Anthony H, Hoffmann, Daniel, Lang, Florian, Lang, Philipp A, Westendorf, Astrid M and Lang, Karl S (2015). Virus-Induced Type I Interferon Deteriorates Control of Systemic Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Infection. Cellular physiology and biochemistry : international journal of experimental cellular physiology, biochemistry, and pharmacology, 36 (6), 2379-92. doi: 10.1159/000430200
Xu, Haifeng C, Huang, Jun, Khairnar, Vishal, Duhan, Vikas, Pandyra, Aleksandra A, Grusdat, Melanie, Shinde, Prashant, McIlwain, David R, Maney, Sathish Kumar, Gommerman, Jennifer, Löhning, Max, Ohashi, Pamela S, Mak, Tak W, Pieper, Kathrin, Sic, Heiko, Speletas, Matthaios, Eibel, Hermann, Ware, Carl F, Tumanov, Alexei V, Kruglov, Andrey A, Nedospasov, Sergei A, Häussinger, Dieter, Recher, Mike, Lang, Karl S and Lang, Philipp A (2015). Deficiency of the B cell-activating factor receptor results in limited CD169+ macrophage function during viral infection. Journal of virology, 89 (9), 4748-59. doi: 10.1128/JVI.02976-14
Khairnar, Vishal, Duhan, Vikas, Maney, Sathish Kumar, Honke, Nadine, Shaabani, Namir, Pandyra, Aleksandra A, Seifert, Marc, Pozdeev, Vitaly, Xu, Haifeng C, Sharma, Piyush, Baldin, Fabian, Marquardsen, Florian, Merches, Katja, Lang, Elisabeth, Kirschning, Carsten, Westendorf, Astrid M, Häussinger, Dieter, Lang, Florian, Dittmer, Ulf, Küppers, Ralf, Recher, Mike, Hardt, Cornelia, Scheffrahn, Inka, Beauchemin, Nicole, Göthert, Joachim R, Singer, Bernhard B, Lang, Philipp A and Lang, Karl S (2015). CEACAM1 induces B-cell survival and is essential for protective antiviral antibody production. Nature communications, 6 (1) 6217, 6217. doi: 10.1038/ncomms7217
Lang, P A, Meryk, A, Pandyra, A A, Brenner, D, Brüstle, A, Xu, H C, Merches, K, Lang, F, Khairnar, V, Sharma, P, Funkner, P, Recher, M, Shaabani, N, Duncan, G S, Duhan, V, Homey, B, Ohashi, P S, Häussinger, D, Knolle, P A, Honke, N, Mak, T W and Lang, K S (2015). Toso regulates differentiation and activation of inflammatory dendritic cells during persistence-prone virus infection. Cell death and differentiation, 22 (1), 164-73. doi: 10.1038/cdd.2014.138
Duhan, Vikas, Joshi, Neha, Nagarajan, P. and Upadhyay, Pramod (2012). Protocol for long duration whole body hyperthermia in mice. Journal of Visualized Experiments (66) e3801. doi: 10.3791/3801
Joshi, Neha, Duhan, Vikas, Lingwal, Neelam, Bhaskar, Sangeeta and Upadhyay, Pramod (2012). Adjuvant properties of thermal component of hyperthermia enhanced transdermal immunization: effect on dendritic cells. PLoS One, 7 (2) e32067, 1-12. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0032067
Patent
Lang, Karl Sebastian, Singer, Bernhard, Khairnar, Vishal, Duhan, Vikas and Zhou, Fan Steven (2018). Immunostimulatory anti-CEACAM1 antibody. US10106608B2.