Mehrdad Rakaee


Associate Professor II

Job description

 

  • Member of the Translational Cancer Research Group.
  • Supervising PhD and postdoc students.
  • Extensive experience in experimental, statistical, and computational analysis of cancer, with research expertise in biomarker development, validation, clinical implementation, clinicogenomics, and AI-based pathology.
  • Full-time position as leading researcher at the Department of Clinical Pathology, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, responsible for implementing, analyzing, and interpreting next-generation sequencing (NGS) in routine practice. I act as genomicist in the national infrastructure for precision diagnostics in cancer treatment (InPred), IMPRESS-Norway, and TNM-I clinical studies for personalized medicine.
  • Part-time position as a senior researcher at the Åslaug Helland Lab, Cancer Genetics Department, Institute of Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital (OUS), tasked with the development of artificial intelligence-based tools as predictive biomarkers for precision immunotherapy in lung cancer.
  • Affiliated collaborator with Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA.
  • Honorary and visiting researcher at Imperial College London, UK.

  • Csaba Kerepesi, Hassan Mohammed Abushukair, Biagio Ricciuti, Amin H Nassar, Elio Adib, Joao V Alessi et al.:
    Association of Baseline Tumor-Specific Neoantigens and CD8+ T-Cell Infiltration With Immune-Related Adverse Events Secondary to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
    JCO Precision Oncology (JCO PO) 2024 DOI
  • Erna-Elise Paulsen, Sigve Andersen, Mehrdad Rakaee, Mona Irene Pedersen, Ana Paola Lombardi, Mette Pøhl et al.:
    Impact of microvessel patterns and immune status in NSCLC: a non-angiogenic vasculature is an independent negative prognostic factor in lung adenocarcinoma
    Frontiers in Oncology 2023 ARKIV / DOI
  • Mehrdad Rakaee, Sigve Andersen, K. Giannikou, Erna-Elise Paulsen, Thomas Karsten Kilvær, Lill-Tove Rasmussen Busund et al.:
    Machine learning-based immune phenotypes correlate with STK11/KEAP1 co-mutations and prognosis in resectable NSCLC: a sub-study of the TNM-I trial
    Annals of Oncology 2023 ARKIV / DOI
  • Lorenzo Nibid, Carlo Greco, Ermanno Cordelli, Giovanna Sabarese, Michele Fiore, Charles Z. Liu et al.:
    Deep pathomics: A new image-based tool for predicting response to treatment in stage III non-small cell lung cancer
    PLOS ONE 2023 DOI
  • Biagio Ricciuti, Arielle Elkrief, Joao Alessi, Xinan Wang, Yvonne Li, Hersh Gupta et al.:
    Clinicopathologic, Genomic, and Immunophenotypic Landscape of ATM Mutations in Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
    Clinical Cancer Research 2023 DOI
  • Donjeta Gjuka, Elio Adib, Kendra Garrison, Jianfeng Chen, Yuxue Zhang, Wenjiao Li et al.:
    Enzyme-mediated depletion of methylthioadenosine restores T cell function in MTAP-deficient tumors and reverses immunotherapy resistance
    Cancer Cell 28. September 2023 DOI
  • Mehrdad Rakaee, Elio Adib, Biagio Ricciuti, Lynette M. Sholl Sholl, Weiwei Shi, Joao V. Alessi et al.:
    Association of machine learning-based assessment of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes on standard histologic images with outcomes of immunotherapy in patients with NSCLC
    JAMA Oncology 17. November 2022 DOI
  • Håkon Andre Ramberg, Elin Richardsen, Gustavo Antonio De Souza, Mehrdad Rakaee, Maria Stensland, Peder Rustøen Braadland et al.:
    Proteomic analyses identify major vault protein as a prognostic biomarker for fatal prostate cancer
    Carcinogenesis 2021 ARKIV / DOI
  • Mehrdad Rakaee, Thomas Karsten Kilvær, Simin Jamaly, Thomas Berg, Erna-Elise Paulsen, Marte Berglund et al.:
    Tertiary lymphoid structure score: a promising approach to refine the TNM staging in resected non-small cell lung cancer
    British Journal of Cancer 2021 DOI
  • Maria Jenvin Støen, Sigve Andersen, Mehrdad Rakaee, Mona Irene Pedersen, Lise Martine Ingebriktsen, Roy M. Bremnes et al.:
    High expression of miR-17-5p in tumor epithelium is a predictor for poor prognosis for prostate cancer patients
    Scientific Reports 2021 ARKIV / DOI
  • Simin Jamaly, Mehrdad Rakaee, Reza Abdi, George tsokos, Kristin Andreassen Fenton :
    Interplay of immune and kidney resident cells in the formation of tertiary lymphoid structures in lupus nephritis
    Autoimmunity Reviews 2021 ARKIV / DOI
  • Maria Jenvin Støen, Sigve Andersen, Mehrdad Rakaee, Mona I. Pedersen, Lise Martine Ingebriktsen, Tom Dønnem et al.:
    Overexpression of mir-20a-5p in tumor epithelium is an independent negative prognostic indicator in prostate cancer—a multi-institutional study
    Cancers 2021 ARKIV / DOI
  • Thomas Karsten Kilvær, Erna-Elise Paulsen, Sigve Andersen, Mehrdad Rakaee, Roy M. Bremnes, Lill-Tove Rasmussen Busund et al.:
    Digitally quantified CD8+ cells: the best candidate marker for an immune cell score in non-small cell lung cancer?
    Carcinogenesis 2020 ARKIV / DOI
  • Mehrdad Rakaee, Lill-Tove Busund, Simin Jamaly, Erna-Elise Paulsen, Elin Richardsen, Sigve Andersen et al.:
    Prognostic Value of Macrophage Phenotypes in Resectable Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer Assessed by Multiplex Immunohistochemistry
    Neoplasia 12. February 2019 ARKIV / DOI
  • Elin Richardsen, Sigve Andersen, Christian Melbø-Jørgensen, Mehrdad Rakaee, Nora Ness, Samer Al-Saad et al.:
    MicroRNA 141 is associated to outcome and aggressive tumor characteristics in prostate cancer
    Scientific Reports 2019 ARKIV / DOI
  • Elin Richardsen, Sigve Andersen, Samer Al-Saad, Mehrdad Rakaee, Yngve Nordby, Mona Irene Pedersen et al.:
    Low expression of miR-424-3p is highly correlated with clinical failure in prostate cancer
    Scientific Reports 2019 ARKIV / DOI
  • Thomas Karsten Kilvær, Mehrdad Rakaee, Turid Hellevik, Jørg Vik, Luigi de Petris, Tom Dønnem et al.:
    Differential prognostic impact of platelet-derived growth factor receptor Expression in NSCLC
    Scientific Reports 2019 ARKIV / DOI
  • Thomas Karsten Kilvær, Mehrdad Rakaee, Turid Hellevik, Arne Östman, Carina Strell, Roy M. Bremnes et al.:
    Tissue analyses reveal a potential immune-adjuvant function of FAP-1 positive fibroblasts in non-small cell lung cancer
    PLOS ONE 2018 ARKIV / DOI
  • Sigurd Hald, Mehrdad Rakaee, Inigo Zubiavrre Martinez, Elin Richardsen, Samer Al-Saad, Erna Elise Paulsen et al.:
    LAG-3 in Non-Small-cell Lung Cancer: Expression in Primary Tumors and Metastatic Lymph Nodes Is Associated With Improved Survival
    Clinical Lung Cancer 2018 DOI
  • Mehrdad Rakaee, Thomas Karsten Kilvær, Stig Manfred Dalen, Elin Richardsen, Erna Elise Paulsen, Sigurd Hald et al.:
    Evaluation of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes using routine H&E slides predicts patient survival in resected non-small cell lung cancer
    Human Pathology 2018 DOI
  • Thea K.W. Grindstad, Elin Richardsen, Sigve Andersen, Kaja Konstanse Skjefstad, Mehrdad Rakaee, Tom Dønnem et al.:
    Progesterone receptors in prostate cancer: Progesterone receptor B is the isoform associated with disease progression
    Scientific Reports 2018 ARKIV / DOI
  • Nora Ness, Sigve Andersen, Mehrdad Rakaee, Cecilie Nordbakken, Andrey Yurjevich Valkov, Erna-Elise Paulsen et al.:
    The prognostic role of immune checkpoint markers programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) in a large, multicenter prostate cancer cohort
    OncoTarget 2017 ARKIV / DOI
  • Elin Richardsen, Sigve Andersen, Samer Al-Saad, Mehrdad Rakaee, Yngve Nordby, Mona Irene Pedersen et al.:
    Evaluation of the proliferation marker Ki-67 in a large prostatectomy cohort
    PLOS ONE 2017 ARKIV / DOI
  • Erna-Elise Paulsen, Thomas Karsten Kilvær, Mehrdad Rakaee, Elin Richardsen, Sigurd Hald, Sigve Andersen et al.:
    CTLA-4 expression in the non-small cell lung cancer patient tumor microenvironment: diverging prognostic impact in primary tumors and lymph node metastases
    Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy 2017 ARKIV / DOI
  • Sigve Andersen, Elin Richardsen, Mehrdad Rakaee, Helena Bertilsson, Roy M. Bremnes, Magne Børset et al.:
    Expression of phosphatase of regenerating liver (PRL)-3, is independently associated with biochemical failure, clinical failure and death in prostate cancer
    PLOS ONE 30. November 2017 ARKIV / DOI
  • Samer Al-Saad, Elin Richardsen, Thomas Karsten Kilvær, Tom Dønnem, Sigve Andersen, Mehrdad Rakaee et al.:
    The impact of MET, IGF-1, IGF1R expression and EGFR mutations on survival of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer
    PLOS ONE 2017 ARKIV / DOI
  • Yngve Nordby, Elin Richardsen, Mehrdad Rakaee, Nora Ness, Tom Dønnem, Hitendra R.H. Patel et al.:
    High expression of PDGFR-β in prostate cancer stroma is independently associated with clinical and biochemical prostate cancer recurrence
    Scientific Reports 2017 ARKIV / DOI
  • Roy M. Bremnes, Lill-Tove Busund, Thomas Karsten Kilvær, Sigve Andersen, Elin Richardsen, Erna-Elise Paulsen et al.:
    The role of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in development, progression, and prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer
    Journal of Thoracic Oncology 2016 DOI
  • Erna-Elise Paulsen, Thomas Karsten Kilvær, Mehrdad Rakaee, Samer Al-Saad, Sigurd Hald, Sigve Andersen et al.:
    Assessing PDL-1 and PD-1 in non-small cell lung cancer: a novel immunoscore approach
    Clinical Lung Cancer 2016 ARKIV / DOI
  • falah jabar, Sigve Andersen, Erna-Elise Paulsen, Masoud Tafavvoghi, Elin Helmine Richardsen, Sissel Gyrid Freim Wahl et al.:
    Integrating Artificial intelligence (AI)-based lymphocytic infiltration assessment in early-stage NSCLC: A sub-study of the TNM-I trial
    2024
  • Mehrdad Rakaee :
    Machine learning and AI in pathology for prediction of response to immunotherapy
    2024
  • Elio Adib, falah jabar, Masoud Tafavvoghi, Amin Nassar, Lill-Tove Rasmussen Busund, Tom Dønnem et al.:
    Artificial Intelligence-powered analysis of the tumor immune microenvironment in primary and metastatic colorectal cancer
    2024
  • Mehrdad Rakaee, Patrick Holmstad :
    Mutational drivers of a dysfunctional local immune response in resected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients
    UiT Norges arktiske universitet 2023
  • Scheiner Bernhard, Alessio Antonio, Kim Gwangil, D. Goldin Robert, A.M. Fulgenzi Claudia, Balcar Lorenz et al.:
    MACHINE LEARNING-BASED ASSESSMENT OF TUMOUR- INFILTRATING LYMPHOCYTES PREDICTS OUTCOMES IN PATIENTS WITH HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA UNDERGOING ATEZOLIZUMAB AND BEVACIZUMAB TREATMENT
    2023
  • Mehrdad Rakaee, Siri Kristoffersen :
    Developing a machine learning model for tumor cell quantification in standard histology images of lung cancer
    UiT Norges arktiske universitet 2023
  • Elio Adib, Mehrdad Rakaee, Amin Nassar, Elias Bou Farhat, Stephen Hodi, David J. Kwiatkowski :
    Machine learning (ML)-based quantification of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) and clinical outcomes of patients with melanoma treated with immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICI)
    2023
  • Mehrdad Rakaee :
    Stian har livstruende lungekreft: – Jeg er beviset på at forskning nytter
    08. June 2023
  • Mehrdad Rakaee, Masoud Tafavvoghi, Elio Adib, Biagio Ricciuti, Joao Alessi, Alessio Cortellini et al.:
    Artificial intelligence algorithm developed to predict immune checkpoint inhibitors efficacy in non–small-cell lung cancer
    2023
  • Mehrdad Rakaee, Siri Gulliksen Tømmerbakke :
    Tromsø-forsker med på tre posterpresentasjoner
    04. June 2022
  • Mehrdad Rakaee, Elio Adib, Biagio Ricciuti, Lynette M. Sholl, Joao V.Alessi, Alessio Cortellini et al.:
    Digital quantification of lymphocytic infiltration on routine H&E images and immunotherapy response in non-small cell lung cancer
    2022
  • Elio Adib, Amin Nassar, Talal El.Zarif, Neil Kale, Mehrdad Rakaee, Tarek H. Mouhieddine et al.:
    Dual CDKN2A/MTAP loss compared to CDKN2A loss alone and response to immunecheckpoint inhibitors (ICI) in advanced solid tumors
    2022
  • Mehrdad Rakaee, Kiniena Tekie :
    Heterogeneity Assessment of PD-L1 Expression in Biopsy Versus Resected Specimens of Lung Adenocarcinoma - Machine Learning Approach
    UiT Norges arktiske universitet 2022
  • Mehrdad Rakaee :
    Digital quantification of lymphocytic infiltration on routine H&E images predicts efficacy of immunotherapy in NSCLC
    2022
  • Mehrdad Rakaee, Elio Adib, Biagio Ricciuti, Lynette M. Sholl, Weiwei Shi, Joao V.Alessi et al.:
    Artificial intelligence in digital pathology approach identifies the predictive impact of tertiary lymphoid structures with immune-checkpoints therapy in NSCLC
    2022
  • Mehrdad Rakaee :
    AI-based in-situ immunophenotypes and genomic alterations in non-small cell lung cancer
    2022
  • Mehrdad Rakaee, Elio Adib, Biagio Ricciuti, Lynette M. Sholl, Weiwei Shi, Joao V Alessi et al.:
    Computational pathology by Artificial Intelligence (AI) on quantifying the lymphocytic infiltration predicts the immunotherapy response in NSCLC
    2022
  • Mehrdad Rakaee :
    AI-based pathology predicts immunotherapy response in lung cancer
    2022
  • Mehrdad Rakaee :
    Genomic and Immunological Landscape of Scandinavian NSCLC
    2021
  • Mehrdad Rakaee :
    Immune Infiltration and Clinical Outcome in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
    UiT Norges arktiske universitet 2019
  • Kaja Konstanse Skjefstad, Thea K.W. Grindstad, Mehrdad Rakaee, Elin Richardsen, Tom Dønnem, Thomas Karsten Kilvær et al.:
    Corrigendum to "Prognostic relevance of estrogen receptor α, β and aromatase expression in non-small cell lung cancer" [Steroids 113 (2016) 5-13]
    Steroids 2018 DOI

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    Research interests

    • Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Digital Pathology
    • Biomarkers for Immuno-Oncology (IO)
    • Tumor Immunity and Genomics