Aline Buddingh
Research
In cancer immunotherapy, the patient’s own immune system is exploited to fight cancer. In my PhD project I am focusing on two types of cancer immunotherapies: i) therapeutic cancer vaccination, and ii) intratumoral immunomodulation.
Therapeutic cancer vaccines are used to induce T cells, which recognize cancer-specific peptides presented on MHC-molecules. Previous studies have shown that a) formulation of cancer-specific peptides into cationic liposomes is very effective to induce high-numbers of antigen-specific T cells, b) intradermal delivery of these liposomal cancer vaccines leads to superior immunity and tumor control, while only requiring a fraction of the dose compared to classical vaccination routes. Therefore, in my PhD project I aim to create novel intradermal cancer vaccination strategies, based on peptide-encapsulated liposomes.
For intratumoral immunomodulation, I will work on the design of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-loaded microneedles for immunomodulation of skin cancers. In the tumor microenvironment (TME), immune suppression can occur. Treatment with ICIs can reactivate cancer-specific immune cells that are already present in the TME. However, systemic delivery of ICIs can lead to severe (auto)immune-related toxicity. Therefore, local ICI delivery through dissolvable microneedles could help prevent systemic toxicity and assure high concentrations of ICIs within the TME and (re)activate only the tumor-specific T cells.
In summary, my PhD project aims to combine intradermal vaccination to induce de novo tumour-specific T cell responses with intratumoral delivery of ICI via microneedles to overcome immune suppression in the TME.
Curriculum Vitae
I received my Bachelor’s degree in Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences with honours at Leiden University. Sequentially, I followed with a master’s degree in Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences at Leiden University. During my master’s, I did an internship at the department of Drug Discovery and Safety at the LACDR, where I investigated the differentiation of neuromesodermal progenitor-like cells towards Schwann cells. For my thesis, I performed research at the department of Immunology at the LUMC where I worked on nonviral liposomal carriers as an alternative for gene editing of hematopoietic stem cells. In December of 2025, I joined the Pharmaceutical Immunology group as a PhD student under the supervision of Dr. Koen van der Maaden.
