Dr. Dinesh Kumar Ahirwar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioscience & Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur, India. He is also a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology, Wexner Medical Center, The Ohio State University, USA. He obtained his B.Sc. from Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya in 2003, his M.Sc. from Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya in 2005, and his Ph.D. from Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences in 2010. He completed his post-doctoral training at the School of Medicine, University of Utah, USA. His major research focus is understanding how tumor cells hijack surrounding stromal cells, including fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and immune cells, to acquire invasive and metastatic properties. Using genetically modified and spontaneous tumor mouse models, he has shown that the cancer-associated fibroblast-derived inflammatory molecule CXCL12 enhances tumor cell intravasation by increasing vascular permeability and leaky tumor vasculature expansion, resulting in lung metastasis. He utilizes pro/anti-inflammatory molecules to develop immune-based strategies against aggressive and metastatic tumors. He is also a member of the American Association for Cancer Research and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, USA.