“Anyone looking to pursue their PhD should be captivated by their topic, otherwise you won't be able to endure. I'm fascinated by the function of immune cells, myself. It's so interesting to unravel the underlying mechanisms. I wanted to understand why some melanoma patients respond well to immunotherapy while others don't, or only briefly. Checkpoints could be a factor: these checkpoints ensure that immune cells don't attack healthy cells. Tumors hijack this mechanism. They disguise themselves as healthy cells, allowing them to go unnoticed. Through medicine called checkpoint inhibitors, we can reverse this disguise, making the tumor cells appear as tumor cells again. Unfortunately, this can lead to toxicity. It's still tricky to predict the risks in advance. I did find an inhibitor that could potentially prevent resistance. To find it, I conducted a test lasting three days. I took on the night shifts myself, while my colleagues helped me during the day so I could get some sleep. True teamwork! I'm now working in a different team: the translational research team at the pharmaceutical company Galapagos in Leiden.”
Esmée will defend her thesis on May 14.
prof. dr. C.U. Blank & prof. dr. D.S. Peeper