Julia Busselaar

Research

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) are critical in immune responses against viral infections and cancer. They recognize antigens presented by malignant or virus-infected cells, and perform specific killing of these cells. This adaptive immune response also leads to the formation of memory CTLs that are rapidly reactivated upon a second encounter with the antigen, resulting in long-term protection.

In order to obtain their cytotoxic functions, naïve CTLs need to be properly activated via interactions with antigen-presenting dendritic cells and CD4+ T helper cells. Using a DNA vaccination model, our lab has shown that CD4+ T cell “help” is essential to generate CTLs with improved cytotoxic, migratory and memory capacities. My research aims to gain a better understanding how CD4 T cell help shapes the differentiation pathway of CTLs, and to assess the relevance of “helped” and “helpless” CTL populations in cancer vaccination and the response to immunotherapy.

Curriculum vitae

I studied Biomedical Sciences at the University of Amsterdam, with two master internships at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) and the Free University medical center - Cancer Center Amsterdam (VUmc-CCA). I obtained my Master degree in 2018, after which I started my PhD project in the group Prof. Jannie Borst at the Netherlands Cancer Institute. In 2019, our research group moved to the LUMC.