Livia Romanov

Biography

I completed my undergraduate degree in Microbiology here at UW–Madison in the spring of 2024 and started my PhD in Cellular and Molecular Pathology that same year.

Fun fact: Dr. Gumperz was my first immunology professor, almost 5 years ago now! 

My research interests focus on the uptake and presentation of extracellular tumor antigens by dendritic cells (DCs) and how invariant natural killer T cells (iNKTs) enhance these functions, ultimately activating potent anti-tumor CD8 T cells. I work with an amazing group of researchers on a Collaborative Health Sciences Program project diving into how we can better treat ovarian cancer. After diagnosis, the first step involves “surgical debulking”, where a surgeon removes as much tumor as possible. This is often not a perfect process, and microscopic tumors can be left behind with potential to bounce back. We investigate how pharmaceutical intervention combined with our iNKT-DC immunotherapy can prime the immune system to clear remnants of disease and contribute to remission.

Joined January 2025