Cancer-specific vaccines are a form of immunotherapy that shows immune cells what tumors “look like.” However, it can be challenging to deliver that “intel” correctly, and vaccines for individual patients need to be produced in a relatively short time-frame. To tackle these challenges, Dr. Ossendrop has optimized liposome nanoparticles for delivery of this cancer-specific information to dendritic cells (DCs). With the addition of the immune stimulant poly:IC, these DCs activate anti-tumor T cells and promote elimination of melanoma and HPV-expressing tumors. He’s also developing ways to produce these nanoparticle vaccines so that they’re safe for human usage. Hopefully, Dr. Ossendorp’s work will improve our ability to vaccinate against cancer and improve immunotherapy’s effectiveness in patients.
As a biologist my motivation is to make use of our natural defense systems to clear our body from unwanted, transformed cells. CRI’s financial support helps us to develop immune potentiating formulations for adequate activation of cancer-specific immune responses.
Projects and Grants
Novel vaccine nanoformulations for clinical mutanome-based cancer immunotherapy
Leiden University Medical Center (Netherlands) | Melanoma, Ovarian Cancer | 2015
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