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Hire Dr. Arpad S.

Hungary

USD 250 /hr

Immunologist & Cell Therapy Scientist | CAR T/NK Engineering | Tumor Immunotherapy & Cell Signaling Expert

Profile Summary

I am an immunologist and cell biologist specializing in tumor immunotherapy and the genetic engineering of immune cells for cancer treatment. My research focuses on the development and optimization of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)–modified T and NK cells, with particular emphasis on targeting solid tumors and overcoming mechanisms of immune resistance. I obtained my MD/PhD degree from the University of Debrecen, where I currently serve as a researcher and educator. My early work explored cell signaling mechanisms regulating the transition between proliferation and migration, including site-specific phosphorylation of PDGF receptors. As a postdoctoral fellow at Baylor College of Medicine, I expanded my expertise into translational immunotherapy, engineering T cells and mesenchymal stem cells to secrete bispecific T cell engager molecules for targeted anti-tumor responses. My current research integrates molecular design, cell engineering, and functional immunological assays to improve the efficacy of CAR T and CAR NK therapies. This includes the development of novel CAR constructs, investigation of immune synapse formation, and strategies to enhance persistence and activity in the tumor microenvironment. I have also worked on switch receptor systems, cytokine modulation, and combinatorial approaches to improve therapeutic outcomes. In addition to my research, I am actively involved in teaching cell biology and mentoring students at the University of Debrecen. I have been recognized with multiple awards for both scientific and educational excellence. My work is driven by the goal of translating fundamental discoveries into clinically relevant immunotherapies and fostering interdisciplinary collaborations in the field of cancer research.

Subject Matter Expertise

• ☆ Drug Development
• ☆ Preclinical Research
• ☆ Medical Genetics
• ☆ Immunogenetics
• ☆ Precision Medicine
• ☆ Medical Education
• ☆ Continuing Medical Education (CME)
• ☆ Immunotherapy
• ☆ Gene Therapy
• ☆ Cancer Research
• ☆ Cancer Biology
• ☆ Carcinogenesis

Services

• Writing
• Research
• Consulting
• Product Development

Writing Creative Writing

Research Scientific and Technical Research, Systematic Literature Review

Consulting Healthcare Consulting, Operations Consulting, Scientific and Technical Consulting, Regulatory Consulting, Manufacturing Consulting

Product Development Formulation, Product Validation, Manufacturing, Concept Development, Product Launch Support

Work Experience

University of Debrecen

- Present

Assistant Professor / Associate Professor

University of Debrecen

August 2022 - Present

Education

University of Debrecen

- Present

PhD

University of Debrecen

September 2008 - August 2014

Certifications

• Certification details not provided.

Publications

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Arpad Szoor, Jesús Borrego, Muhammad Umair Naseem, Amna Al Olaimi, Eva Korpos, Gyula Batta, Gyorgy Panyi (2026). A Fluorescent Protein-Tagged Scorpion Toxin with Picomolar Affinity for the Kv1.3 K+ Channel . ACS Omega.

Patrik Kovács, Judit Vágó, Ali Mobasheri, Zsuzsa Jenei-Lanzl, Frank Zaucke, Henning Madry, László Csernoch, Zoltán Szekanecz, Zsuzsa Szondy, Árpád Szöőr, et al. (2026). Emerging concepts in osteoarthritis and musculoskeletal diseases: Insights from the University of Debrecen Musculoskeletal Symposium 2025 . Osteoarthritis and Cartilage Open.

Bence Gergely, Márk A. Vereb, István Rebenku, György Vereb, Árpád Szöőr (2025). Targeting HER2-Positive Solid Tumors with CAR NK Cells: CD44 Expression Is a Critical Modulator of HER2-Specific CAR NK Cell Efficacy . Cancers.

Gergely, B., Vereb, M.A., Rebenku, I., Vereb, G., Szöőr, Á.(2025). Targeting HER2-Positive Solid Tumors with CAR NK Cells: CD44 Expression Is a Critical Modulator of HER2-Specific CAR NK Cell Efficacy . Cancers. 17. (5).

Tóth, A., Lente, G., Csiki, D.M., Balogh, E., Szöőr, Á., Nagy, B., Jeney, V.(2024). Activation of PERK/eIF2α/ATF4/CHOP branch of endoplasmic reticulum stress response and cooperation between HIF-1α and ATF4 promotes Daprodustat-induced vascular calcification . Frontiers in Pharmacology. 15.

Ababneh, H., Tóth, A., Lente, G., Balogh, E., Csiki, D.M., Nagy, B., Szöőr, Á., Jeney, V.(2024). High phosphate and calcium induce osteoblastic phenotype switching and calcification of corneal epithelial cells in a Runx2-dependent and synergistic manner; a possible mechanism of chronic kidney disease-associated corneal calcification . Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Molecular Basis of Disease. 1870. (5).

Lupsa, N., Érsek, B., Böröczky, C., Kis, D., Szarka, E., Lumniczky, K., Sáfrány, G., Zádori, Z.S., Szöőr, Á., Buzás, E.I., et al.(2024). High sensitivity of host Helios⁺/Neuropilin-1⁺ Treg to pretransplant conditioning hampers development of OX40^bright/integrin-β7⁺ regulatory cells in acute gastrointestinal GvHD . European Journal of Immunology. 54. (6).

Medyouni, G., Vörös, O., Jusztus, V., Panyi, G., Vereb, G., Szöőr, Á., Hajdu, P.(2024). Inhibition of K⁺ Channels Affects the Target Cell Killing Potential of CAR T Cells . Cancers. 16. (22).

Barden, M., Elsenbroich, P.R., Haas, V., Ertelt, M., Pervan, P., Velas, L., Gergely, B., Szöor, A., Harrer, D.C., Bezler, V., et al.(2024). Integrating binding affinity and tonic signaling enables a rational CAR design for augmented T cell function . Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer. 12. (12).

Nagy, L., Mezősi-Csaplár, M., Rebenku, I., Vereb, G., Szöőr, Á.(2024). Universal CAR T cells targeted to HER2 with a biotin-trastuzumab soluble linker penetrate spheroids and large tumor xenografts that are inherently resistant to trastuzumab mediated ADCC . Frontiers in Immunology. 15.

Mezősi-Csaplár, M., Szöőr, Á., Vereb, G.(2023). CD28 and 41BB Costimulatory Domains Alone or in Combination Differentially Influence Cell Surface Dynamics and Organization of Chimeric Antigen Receptors and Early Activation of CAR T Cells . Cancers. 15. (12).

Csiki, D.M., Ababneh, H., Tóth, A., Lente, G., Szöőr, Á., Tóth, A., Fillér, C., Juhász, T., Nagy, B., Balogh, E., et al.(2023). Hypoxia-inducible factor activation promotes osteogenic transition of valve interstitial cells and accelerates aortic valve calcification in a mice model of chronic kidney disease . Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine. 10.

Barden, M., Holzinger, A., Velas, L., Mezősi-Csaplár, M., Szöőr, Á., Vereb, G., Schütz, G.J., Hombach, A.A., Abken, H.(2023). CAR and TCR form individual signaling synapses and do not cross-activate, however, can co-operate in T cell activation . Frontiers in Immunology. 14.

Tóth, A., Csiki, D.M., Nagy, B., Balogh, E., Lente, G., Ababneh, H., Szöőr, Á., Jeney, V.(2022). Daprodustat Accelerates High Phosphate-Induced Calcification Through the Activation of HIF-1 Signaling . Frontiers in Pharmacology. 13.

Cserepes, M., Nelhűbel, G.A., Meilinger-Dobra, M., Herczeg, A., Türk, D., Hegedűs, Z., Svajda, L., Rásó, E., Ladányi, A., Csikó, K.G., et al.(2022). EGFR R521K Polymorphism Is Not a Major Determinant of Clinical Cetuximab Resistance in Head and Neck Cancer . Cancers. 14. (10).

Bencze, D., Fekete, T., Pfliegler, W., Szöőr, A., Csoma, E., Szántó, A., Tarr, T., Bácsi, A., Kemény, L., Veréb, Z., et al.(2022). Interactions between the NLRP3-Dependent IL-1β and the Type I Interferon Pathways in Human Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells . International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 23. (20).

Blokon-Kogan, D., Levi-Mann, M., Malka-Levy, L., Itzhaki, O., Besser, M.J., Shiftan, Y., Szöor, Á., Vereb, G., Gross, G., Abken, H., et al.(2022). Membrane anchored IL-18 linked to constitutively active TLR4 and CD40 improves human T cell antitumor capacities for adoptive cell therapy . Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer. 10. (9).

Guti, E., Regdon, Z., Sturniolo, I., Kiss, A., Kovács, K., Demény, M., Szöőr, Á., Vereb, G., Szöllősi, J., Hegedűs, C., et al.(2022). The multitargeted receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor sunitinib induces resistance of HER2 positive breast cancer cells to trastuzumab-mediated ADCC . Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy. 71. (9). Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Localization.LocalizedHtmlString 2151-2168.

Mihály, C., Györgyi, N.A., Mónika, M.-D., Eszter, S.S., Erzsébet, R., Andrea, L., István, K., Árpád, S., György, V., Éva, R., et al.(2021). Consequences of extracellular alterations of EGFR on cetuximab therapy in HNSCC,Az egfr extracelluláris módosulásainak hatása fej-nyaki daganatok cetuximabterápiájára . Magyar Onkologia. 65. (2). Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Localization.LocalizedHtmlString 188-195.

Varga, Z., Rácz, E., Mázló, A., Korodi, M., Szabó, A., Molnár, T., Szöőr, Á., Veréb, Z., Bácsi, A., Koncz, G.(2021). Cytotoxic activity of human dendritic cells induces RIPK1-dependent cell death . Immunobiology. 226. (1).

Csaplár, M., Szöllősi, J., Gottschalk, S., Vereb, G., Szöőr, Á.(2021). Cytolytic activity of car t cells and maintenance of their cd4+ subset is critical for optimal antitumor activity in preclinical solid tumor models . Cancers. 13. (17).

Szöőr, Á., Szöllősi, J., Vereb, G.(2021). From antibodies to living drugs: Quo vadis cancer immunotherapy? . Biologia Futura. 72. (1). Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Localization.LocalizedHtmlString 85-99.

Tóth, G., Szöllősi, J., Abken, H., Vereb, G., Szöőr, Á.(2020). A small number of HER2 redirected CAR T cells significantly improves immune response of adoptively transferred mouse lymphocytes against human breast cancer xenografts . International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 21. (3).

Mehes, E., Barath, M., Gulyas, M., Bugyik, E., Geiszt, M., Szoor, A., Lanyi, A., Czirok, A.(2020). Author Correction: Enhanced endothelial motility and multicellular sprouting is mediated by the scaffold protein TKS4 (Scientific Reports, (2019), 9, 1, (14363), 10.1038/s41598-019-50915-5) . Scientific Reports. 10. (1).

Volpin, V., Michels, T., Sorrentino, A., Menevse, A.N., Knoll, G., Ditz, M., Milenkovic, V.M., Chen, C.-Y., Rathinasamy, A., Griewank, K., et al.(2020). CAMK1D triggers immune resistance of human tumor cells refractory to anti-PD-L1 treatment . Cancer Immunology Research. 8. (9). Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Localization.LocalizedHtmlString 1163-1179.

ÁRPÁD, S.(2020). GENE MODIFIED IMMUNE CELLS: NEW WEAPONS NOT EXCLUSIVELY against CANCER,Génmódosított immunsejtek: Új fegyverek nem csak daganatok ellen . Lege Artis Medicinae. 30. (10). Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Localization.LocalizedHtmlString 425-431.

Szöőr, Á., Tóth, G., Zsebik, B., Szabó, V., Eshhar, Z., Abken, H., Vereb, G.(2020). Trastuzumab derived HER2-specific CARs for the treatment of trastuzumab-resistant breast cancer: CAR T cells penetrate and eradicate tumors that are not accessible to antibodies . Cancer Letters. 484. Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Localization.LocalizedHtmlString 1-8.

Mehes, E., Barath, M., Gulyas, M., Bugyik, E., Geiszt, M., Szoor, A., Lanyi, A., Czirok, A.(2019). Enhanced endothelial motility and multicellular sprouting is mediated by the scaffold protein TKS4 . Scientific Reports. 9. (1).

Bosire, R., Nánási, P., Imre, L., Dienes, B., Szöőr, Á., Mázló, A., Kovács, A., Seidel, R., Vámosi, G., Szabó, G.(2019). Intercalation of small molecules into DNA in chromatin is primarily controlled by superhelical constraint . PLoS ONE. 14. (11).

Szöor, A.(2018). Gene modified T cells against cancer,Génmódosított T-sejtekkel a daganatok ellen - A 67-es betegtol a kiméra antigénreceptorokig . Lege Artis Medicinae. 28. (10). Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Localization.LocalizedHtmlString 439-446.

Velasquez, M.P., Szoor, A., Vaidya, A., Thakkar, A., Nguyen, P., Wu, M.-F., Liu, H., Gottschalk, S.(2017). CD28 and 41BB costimulation enhances the effector function of CD19-specific engager T cells . Cancer Immunology Research. 5. (10). Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Localization.LocalizedHtmlString 860-870.

Szoor, A., Vaidya, A., Velasquez, M.P., Mei, Z., Galvan, D.L., Torres, D., Gee, A., Heczey, A., Gottschalk, S.(2017). T Cell-Activating Mesenchymal Stem Cells as a Biotherapeutic for HCC . Molecular Therapy Oncolytics. 6. Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Localization.LocalizedHtmlString 69-79.

Bonifant, C.L., Szoor, A., Torres, D., Joseph, N., Velasquez, M.P., Iwahori, K., Gaikwad, A., Nguyen, P., Arber, C., Song, X.-T., et al.(2016). CD123-engager T cells as a novel immunotherapeutic for acute myeloid leukemia . Molecular Therapy. 24. (9). Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Localization.LocalizedHtmlString 1615-1626.

Velasquez, M.P., Torres, D., Iwahori, K., Kakarla, S., Arber, C., Rodriguez-Cruz, T., Szoor, A., Bonifant, C.L., Gerken, C., Cooper, L.J.N., et al.(2016). T cells expressing CD19-specific Engager Molecules for the Immunotherapy of CD19-positive Malignancies . Scientific Reports. 6.

Szöor, Á., Ujlaky-Nagy, L., Tóth, G., Szöllosi, J., Vereb, G.(2016). Cell confluence induces switching from proliferation to migratory signaling by site-selective phosphorylation of PDGF receptors on lipid raft platforms . Cellular Signalling. 28. (2). Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Localization.LocalizedHtmlString 81-93.

Tóth, G., Szöőr, Á., Simon, L., Yarden, Y., Szöllősi, J., Vereb, G.(2016). The combination of trastuzumab and pertuzumab administered at approved doses may delay development of trastuzumab resistance by additively enhancing antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity . mAbs. 8. (7). Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Localization.LocalizedHtmlString 1361-1370.

Nagy, D., Gönczi, M., Dienes, B., Szöőr, Á., Fodor, J., Nagy, Z., Tóth, A., Fodor, T., Bai, P., Szücs, G., et al.(2014). Silencing the KCNK9 potassium channel (TASK-3) gene disturbs mitochondrial function, causes mitochondrial depolarization, and induces apoptosis of human melanoma cells . Archives of Dermatological Research. 306. (10). Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Localization.LocalizedHtmlString 885-902.

Govers, C., Sebestyén, Z., Roszik, J., Van Brakel, M., Berrevoets, C., Szöor, A., Panoutsopoulou, K., Broertjes, M., Van, T., Vereb, G., et al.(2014). TCRs genetically linked to CD28 and CD3ε Do not mispair with endogenous tcr chains and mediate enhanced T cell persistence and anti-melanoma activity . Journal of Immunology. 193. (10). Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Localization.LocalizedHtmlString 5315-5326.

Pazmandi, K., Kumar, B.V., Szabo, K., Boldogh, I., Szoor, A., Vereb, G., Veres, A., Lanyi, A., Rajnavolgyi, E., Bacsi, A.(2012). Ragweed Subpollen Particles of Respirable Size Activate Human Dendritic Cells . PLoS ONE. 7. (12).

Blanáthoma, O.V., Jelínková, I., Szöor, Á., Skender, B., Souček, K., Horváth, V., Vaculová, A., Anděra, L., Sova, P., Szöllosi, J., et al.(2011). Cisplatin and a potent platinum(IV) complex-mediated enhancement of TRAIL-induced cancer cells killing is associated with modulation of upstream events in the extrinsic apoptotic pathway . Carcinogenesis. 32. (1). Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Localization.LocalizedHtmlString 42-51.

Roszik, J., Sebestyén, Z., Govers, C., Guri, Y., Szöor, Á., Pályi-Krekk, Z., Vereb, G., Nagy, P., Szöllosi, J., Debets, R.(2011). T-cell synapse formation depends on antigen recognition but not CD3 interaction: Studies with TCR:ζ, a candidate transgene for TCR gene therapy . European Journal of Immunology. 41. (5). Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Localization.LocalizedHtmlString 1288-1297.

Szöor, Á., Szöllosi, J., Vereb, G.(2010). Rafts and the battleships of defense: The multifaceted microdomains for positive and negative signals in immune cells . Immunology Letters. 130. (1-2). Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Localization.LocalizedHtmlString 2-12.

OTHER

Csiki, D.M., Ababneh, H., Tóth, A., Lente, G., Szöőr, Á., Tóth, A., Fillér, C., Juhász, T., Nagy, B., Balogh, E., et al.(2023). Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) activation promotes osteogenic transition of valve interstitial cells and accelerates heart valve calcification in chronic kidney disease (CKD) . bioRxiv.