London, Ontario, Canada
Dr. Haeryfar obtained his doctorate in Laboratory Medicine from the National University of Tehran shortly before immigrating to Canada in 1996. Subsequently, he received his M.Sc. (1999) and Ph.D. (2003) from the University of Manitoba and Dalhousie University, respectively, both in the general area of tumor immunology. He was then awarded a Fogarty International Fellowship from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (Bethesda, Maryland, USA) where he did his postdoctoral training in antiviral immunity with a special emphasis on CD8+ T cell cross-priming and immunodominance. Dr. Haeryfar was recruited back to Canada in 2006 to establish his independent laboratory at Western University in London, Ontario, where he currently works as a tenured Full Professor of Departments of Microbiology and Immunology, Medicine (Division of Clinical Immunology & Allergy), Surgery (Division of General Surgery), and Oncology. Dr. Haeryfar served as the Canadian Society for Immunology (CSI) Vice-President (2021-2023) and President (2023-2025). Moreover, he was a recipient of an Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation (OMRI) and a Canada Research Chairholder in Viral Immunity & Pathogenesis. These are in addition to multiple awards from the American Association of Immunologists (AAI), among other honors and distinctions. The overarching goal of Haeryfar’s research program is to improve immune responses to cancer and microbial pathogens. His team also strives to understand, prevent or reverse immunopathology and/or immunosuppression in various contexts. Dr. Haeryfar’s investigations are particularly focused on mainstream CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and innate-like T cells, including invariant natural killer T (iNKT) and mucosa-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells, which play significant effector and/or regulatory roles in health and disease. Dr. Haeryfar’s studies have been funded by various agencies, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS), the Cancer Research Society (CRS), and Prostate Cancer Canada.
Since April 2025, Dr. Haeryfar has been serving as the Past President of the Canadian Society for Immunology (CSI). In this capacity, he lead the Society’s Awards and Nominations Committee.
In 2023, Dr. Haeryfar was elected to serve as the President of the Canadian Society for Immunology (CSI). In this capacity, he helped establish a CSI Mentorship Award, and also formed a CSI Advocacy & Public Engagement Committee within the CSI Council. He also strengthened the Society's partnerships with the Clinical Immunology Network-Canada (CINC) and the Canadian Immunocompromised Advocacy Network (CIAN). Moreover, Dr. Haeryfar formed and led a team of trainees digitizing the Society's records and articles of historical significance, creating physical and electronic CSI archives accessible to the public.
In 2021, Dr. Haeryfar was nominated and subsequently elected to serve as the Vice-President of the Canadian Society for Immunology (CSI). During his tenure as the CSI VP, Dr. Haeryfar chaired the Society’s scientific meeting programs, oversaw annual poster award competitions, and recruited/appointed the Chairs of various travel award committees. He also spearheaded efforts to create an Early Career Investigators Webinar Series, which was named after Dr. Michael Gold (University of British Columbia) and launched on March 10, 2022.
Primarily based at the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, and cross-appointed with the Departments of Medicine (Division of Clinical Immunology & Allergy), Surgery (Division of General Surgery), and Oncology at Western University (aka. The University of Western Ontario)
Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Department of Pathobiology
Transplantation, Immunity & Regenerative Medicine Program
Canada Research Chairs Program