Luuk Wijnberg
Research
Therapeutic cancer vaccines, consisting of a specific anti-cancer antigen and an adjuvant, are a promising tool in the field of immunotherapy. Targeting DCs, their goal is to induce tumor-reactive CD4 and CD8 T cells to treat existing tumors and create cancer immunity. To improve their performance, the antigen and adjuvant can be covalently linked, generating self-adjuvanting vaccines. As part of the Oncode Accelerator Program (work package 3) I will synthesize a library of small molecule adjuvants which will be conjugated to synthetic peptides. After this, I will perform the biological screening of these therapeutic vaccines. The ultimate goal of the work package is to develop pharmaceutical-compatible adjuvant libraries and delivery systems to identify the optimal adjuvant-antigen combination
Curriculum vitae
After completing my Bachelor degree in chemistry at the HAN University of Applied Sciences, I pursued a Master degree in medicinal chemistry at the Radboud University. During my Master, I performed my first master internship in the group of dr. Willem Velema (Radboud University) where I worked on the synthesis and biological evaluation of next-generation antibiotics[1]. I did a second internship at the lab of prof. Michal Hocek (IOCB Prague) where I performed synthesis of modified nucleic acids for the selection of modified aptamers. After graduating in 2024, I briefly worked in the Velema lab again as a research technician, after which I joined the Verdoes lab in Feb 2025 as a PhD student.
