Projects
IMMUSPHINX: Targeting sphingolipid metabolism to improve anti-melanoma immune therapies. KU Leuven
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have shown unprecedented and long-lasting anti-tumor response in patients with metastatic melanoma. To extend the proportion of responders, prevent cancer recurrence and improve the efficacy in other cancers, novel strategies are urgently needed. Also, personalized therapies, based on robust prognostic and predictive factors, are necessary to resource allocation and toxicity management.
We recently ...
Evaluating the anti-tumor potential of PARP inhibitor treatment in combination with dendritic cell-based therapies in triple negative breast cancer Vrije Universiteit Brussel
germline BRCA1/2 mutations can currently benefit from targeted therapy with PARP inhibitors (PARPi).
However, even these patients relapse and hence combination strategies with PARPi are being investigated in
patients with and without BRCA1/2 mutations. One strategy to increase the response to PARPi is to improve the ...
MulTplex project: Innovating on combinatorial genetically engineered adoptive Tcell therapies against hematological diseases. University of Antwerp
Molecular profiling of clear-cell renal cell carcinoma and prediction of response to targeted therapies against the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor, immune checkpoint inhibitors and mTOR inhibitors in the metastatic setting. KU Leuven
Over the last 10 years, several new therapies became available for the treatment of metastaticclear-cell kidney tumors: blood vessel inhibitors, mTOR-inhibitors and new generation
immunotherapy. Although these therapies have globally improved therapeutic outcome, individual
patient responses are highly variable. There is an urgent need to know in advance which therapy
will be the best for each patient in order to improve ...
Designing cell-type specific enhancers for CNS Gene Therapies. University of Antwerp
A microfluidics approach towards contact-free laser-induced photoporation for cell-based therapies Ghent University
Treatment of cells for cell-based therapies is a newer form of therapy in which cells are injected in
patient in order to prevent or treat illnesses. A well-known example is usage of a cancer patient’
own immune cells to attack the tumor cells. Vapour nanobubble (VNB) photoporation is
particularly promising for ex vivo preparation of cells for cell-based therapies as it typically
provides high ...
Hybrid CAR – improving cellular therapies for infectious diseases Ghent University
In this project we aim to develop a Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cell-based therapy against a viral infection, where virus becomes effectively eliminated from the patient’s organism. CAR T cell therapy has been successfully applied to treatment of haematological malignancies, but its usage to treat viral infections so far has failed clinical trials. The novelty of our approach consists in targeting not only infected host’s cells ...
Temporal and spatial control of CAR-NK activity levels and associated non-viral gene therapies using magnetic particle-imaging guided hyperthermia KU Leuven
While therapeutic options for cancer are rapidly increasing, many types of cancer such as triple negative breast cancer still suffer from high incidence and death rates. To date, immunotherapy and nanomedicine are very promising therapeutic methods, but both suffer from intrinsic issues related to relatively poor specificity, resulting in off-target effects. In this PhD proposal, I aim to address these issues by combining the benefits of ...
Preclinical evaluation of novel radionuclide therapies in different cancer models KU Leuven
Medicine is not yet able to cure the majority of ovarian cancer patients. In this PhD, we will address new therapeutic avenues, based on radionuclides. Radium-224 labeled microparticles and microparticles and antibodies labeled with lead-212 will be studied in an ovarian cancer mouse model. Because we expect immune modulatory effects of both products, combinatorial treatments, including chemotherapy and immunotherapy, will be tested in a ...