Dr. Arshad Ayyaz

Assistant Professor,

Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada

arshad.ayyaz[at]ucalgary.ca

Dr. Ayyaz is a geneticist and stem cell biologist whose research spans tissue regeneration, inflammation, single-cell genomics, and cancer. His work defines mechanisms governing somatic stem-cell function in homeostasis and repair, and how their dysregulation contributes to disease.

In Nature Cell Biology, he showed that macrophage-like innate immune cells regulate intestinal stem cells through temporally coordinated BMP/DPP signals, linking immune–stem-cell communication to epithelial regeneration, infection resistance, and age-associated intestinal dysplasia (Ayyaz et al., 2015, Nature Cell Biology).

He subsequently led a single-cell transcriptomic study identifying the revival stem cell (revSC), a rare, damage-induced cell type that reconstitutes the homeostatic stem-cell compartment and regenerates the epithelium after severe injury (Ayyaz et al., 2019, Nature).

As senior author, Dr. Ayyaz recently identified WNT/β-catenin inhibitory cancer cells (WICCs), a stem-like population enriched in advanced microsatellite-stable colorectal cancer. WICC-derived NOTUM promotes CD8⁺ T-cell exclusion, defining a potential therapeutic target for immunotherapy-resistant disease (Chua et al., 2026, Cell Reports Medicine).

Dr. Ayyaz also collaborates with Canadian and international teams to define how cellular, microbial, biochemical, and mechanical niche signals shape stem-cell function in health and disease. This work includes establishing PIEZO-dependent mechanosensing as a regulator of intestinal stem-cell fate and maintenance (Baghdadi et al., 2024, Science). Among other studies include mesenchymal, immune, microbial, and pathogen-derived signals (Dervovic et al., 2023, Nature Communications; Baghdadi et al., 2021, Cell Stem Cell; Goldsmith et al., 2020, Nature Communications; Sousa-Victor et al., 2017, Cell Reports).