Staff Profile

Dr Jing Xuan Lim is a Research Associate in the Immune Regulation Laboratory. Her research focuses on decoding how T cells orchestrate the immune responses within the tumour micoenvironments, with the goal of identiying novel biomarkers and developing next-generation cellular immunotherapies for melanoma and inflammatory diseases.

In June 2025, she completed her PhD, passing with no corrections at the Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University. Her doctoral research was supported by the NC3Rs PhD Studentship and the Newcastle University Overseas Research Scholarship (NUORS), and was further recognized with the Doctoral College Thesis Prize for outstanding academic research achievement.

Prior to this, in July 2021, she graduated with a First Class Honours BSc in Biomedical Sciences from Newcastle University. Her undergraduate academic excellence was recognized with the Vice-Chancellor’s Award as well as the NUMed Prize in Stages 1 and 3 for achieving the highest overall marks.

Dr Lim’s research investigates how immune regulation shapes the tissue microenvironment to drive inflammatory diseases and influence cancer therapy outcomes. Her key research contributions include:

• Novel Immune Subsets: She identified a novel innate lymphoid cell (ILC) subset characterized by Tbet⁺NK1.1^- cells that respond to anti-PD-1 therapy in cancer (PNAS, 2023).
• Overcoming Treatment Resistance: In parallel, she discovered that melanoma anti-PD-1 resistance could be driven by CD30⁺ regulatory T cells (Tregs), suggesting a vital new therapeutic strategy for resistant melanoma patient cohorts (Nature Immunology, 2025).
• Mechanisms of Inflammatory Disease: Co-first authored a critical study mapping the deep phenotyping of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in psoriatic arthritis, uncovering novel, targetable mechanisms of the disease (Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2025).

• Student Supervision: Co-supervising three undergraduate (BSc) students and Master's (MRes) student alongside Professor Shoba Amarnath, guiding them through their research projects.
• Research Mentorship: Providing ongoing mentorship and guidance to PhD students and laboratory technicians within the group.
• Technical & Academic Training: Directing lab members in experimental design, advanced laboratory techniques and computational analysis.

• Articles

  • Lim JX, McTaggart T, Jung SK, Smith KJ, Hulme G, Laba S, Ng YQ, Williams A, Hussain R, Coxhead J, Cosgarea I, Arden C, Nsengimana J, Lovat P, Anderson G, Sun H-W, Laurence A, Amarnath S. PD-1 receptor deficiency enhances CD30⁺ T_reg cell function in melanoma. Nature Immunology 2025, 26, 1074-1086.
  • McTaggart T, Lim JX, Smith KJ, Heaney B, McDonald D, Hulme G, Hussain R, Coxhead J, Degnan AE, Isaacs J, Pratt A, Amarnath S. Deep phenotyping of T regulatory cells in psoriatic arthritis highlights targetable mechanisms of disease. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2025, 301(1), 108059.
  • McTaggart T, Lim JX, Smith KJ, Heaney B, McDonald D, Hulme G, Hussain R, Coxhead J, Mann DA, Sayer AA, Granic A, Amarnath S. Deciphering Novel Communication Patterns in T Regulatory Cells From Very Old Adults. Aging Cell 2025, 24(7), e70044.
  • Lim JX, Lai CY, Mallett GE, McDonald D, Hulme G, Laba S, Shapanis A, Payne M, Patterson W, Alexander M, Coxhead J, Filby A, Plummer R, Lovat PE, Sciume G, Healy E, Amarnath S. Programmed cell death-1 receptor-mediated regulation of Tbet⁺NK1.1^- innate lymphoid cells within the tumor microenvironment. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2023, 120(18), e2216587120.