Karel van Leeuwen

Research

Dendritic cells (DC) play a central role in the cancer-immunity cycle. In cancer immunology, it is the cDC1 that is most adept at cross-presenting and cross-priming tumor associated antigens, driving the tumor reactive immune response. As such, cDC1 form a potential target for immune therapy and modulation. My research focuses on validating novel druggable receptor-ligand pairs on both DC and T-cell, which is allowed for by virtue of modern biotechnology. While genetic modification of T-cells is relatively trivial, DC are inherently resistant to often employed engineering techniques. Here, we aim to develop novel viral and non-viral techniques, allowing for the modification of primary ex vivo cDC1, allowing for full receptor-ligand validation.

Curriculum Vitae

I obtained my BSc in Biomedical Sciences from Maastricht University in 2021, graduating with double honors. I subsequently completed my MSc in Biomedical Sciences at Leiden University Medical Center. During my Master’s training, I joined the laboratory of Dr. Alemany and Dr. Geijsen at LUMC, where I worked on the development of a Cas9 base editor–based whole-organism lineage tracing system.

In addition, I conducted an internship at CellPoint (Leiden), where I designed and investigated novel CAR-T cell strategies aimed at enhancing anti-tumor responses while reducing T-cell exhaustion.

In June 2024, I started as a PhD candidate in the lab of Dr. Xiao and Prof. Borst, and since 2025 I have continued my PhD research in the lab of Dr. Xiao, focusing on dendritic cell biology and tumor immunology.