How does cancer research become a life-saving therapy?
In this public lecture, Benoît Van den Eynde, Director of de Duve Institute and Ludwig Cancer Research Brussels, will explain how advances in immunotherapy find their way from the lab to the clinic. To do so, he draws on experience in both academic and business settings. This is your insider look into the future of cancer treatments.
Diether Lambrechts & Chris Marine (Co-Directors of the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology) showcase their work on the POINTILLISM project. Here, their teams are unravelling how and why some people respond well to immunotherapy and others don't.
When and where?
Wed 15 June at 19:00. The location will be at the KU Leuven Promotion & Jubileumzaal (Naamsestraat 22, 3000 Leuven).
For whom?
- Everyone is welcome.
- Admission is free, but registration is required.
- The lecture will be in English.
Schedule for the evening
18h45: Registration open
19h00: Welcome by Patrizia Agostinis
19h05: Diether Lambrechts & Chris Marine - POINTILLISM Grand Challenges project
19h30: Keynote by Benoît Van den Eynde - From bench to bedside in the Immuno-Oncology space: value creation in the Belgian ecosystem
20h15: Closing & reception
21h15: Ending
Who is Benoît Van den Eynde?
Benoît Van den Eynde is a co-founder of iTeos Therapeutics. He has been the Director of Ludwig Cancer Research Brussels since 2010. He also holds the positions of Professor at UCLouvain, Brussels, Director of the de Duve Institute in Brussels, and Professor of Tumour Immunology at the University of Oxford. He is a recognized expert in tumor immunology, a field to which he contributed in the early nineties by identifying some of the very first tumor antigens recognized by CD8+ T lymphocytes. His analyses of the processing of tumor antigens led to the discovery of peptide splicing by the proteasome, and the identification of new proteasome subtypes. His group was also the first to demonstrate that many tumors express the enzyme indoleamine dioxygenase, which suppresses T lymphocyte activity by locally depleting tryptophan in the microenvironment. This led to the clinical development of IDO inhibitors. His current research focuses on combating immunosuppressive mechanisms in the tumor microenvironment via new immuno-oncology agents and developing innovative cancer vaccines.
Benoit holds a medical degree and a Ph.D. in immunology from UCLouvain. He has authored more than 180 peer-reviewed publications and been named inventor on 32 US patents. He has received several awards during his career, including the 2007 GlaxoSmithKline Prize and the Joseph Maisin Prize in Biomedical Sciences. He sits on the scientific advisory board of several biotech and pharma companies.
Van den Eynde Lab website.
What's the POINTILLISM project?
In this Grand Challenge, the aim is to discover why immunotherapy is effective in some patients or in specific cancer types, but not in others. From this knowledge, biomarkers will be identified that predict response to Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICBs).
Furthermore, the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which immune and cancer cells interact will be further unraveled to ultimately guide the clinical implementation of more effective and truly transformative cancer immune-oncology.
Read more
Who are Diether Lambrechts and Chris Marine?
Diether Lambrechts is group leader and director in the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology and Professor at the University of Leuven. His research group is focused on tackling important questions in oncology by translating genome-scale data sets into clinically applicable knowledge. Investigations are based on the application of cutting-edge genome sequencing technologies and advanced bioinformatics, and on the seamless integration of genomic data sets with clinical and fundamental biological information to generate novel insights and useful biomarkers for the field of oncology.
Lambrechts Lab website
Chris Marine is group leader and director in the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology and Professor at the University of Leuven. His research group focuses on the analysis of pathways that underlie the genesis, progression and maintenance of cancer. The goal is to understand how the genes that are implicated in cancer control fundamental cellular processes in normal cells and to understand the mechanisms by which non-mutational (i.e. epigenetic and post-transcriptional) events interfere with these natural processes to bring about tumour development and to affect therapy outcome.
Marine Lab website
This Public Lecture is part of the VIB campaign on Immuno-Oncology
In the coming months VIB will spotlight their Immuno-Oncology research activities. On the days following this lecture the 2-day VIB Conference Recent Insights into Immuno-Oncology takes place on 16-17 June in the Promotiezaal in Leuven. The speaker line-up includes leading scientists in the immuno-oncology field such as Hongbo Chi (US), Maria Rescigno (IT), Yardena Samuels (IL), Caetano Reis e Sousa (UK), Sergio A. Quezada (UK), Andrea Schietinger (US) and many more.
You can find out more on the conference website.
