Assistant Professor
ORCID: 0000-0002-7906-7202
Nadine is a biomedical scientist with specialization immunology. She obtained her PhD in 2010 from Leiden University, faculty of Medicine. During Postdoc positions at ErasmusMC Rotterdam, Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institure of Florida and Leiden University Medical Center, she has established a strong background in tumor immunology and viral immunity. After receiving a Young Investigator Grant from Dutch Cancer Society, she established her own research line in 2018, focusing on Oncolytic Viruses as emerging immunotherapy for cancer. In 2021, she obtained an assistant-professor position at the department of Gastroenterology – Hepatology where she has continued this research and performs cutting edge translational research on pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatic cancer is a devastating disease with high mortality and unmet need due to late diagnosis and limited treatment options. Pancreatic cancer is notoriously resistant to immunotherapy, which has been attributed to the immune-suppressive and immune-exclusive tumor stroma. Nadine’s research focusses on (1) understanding the biology of pancreatic cancer in individuals carrying a CDKN2A/p16 germline mutation (2) dissecting the role of cancer-associated nerves and cancer-associated fibroblasts in mediating immune suppression, immune exclusion and resistance to immunotherapy (3) developing experimental immunotherapies for pancreatic cancer to overcome therapy resistance, with a special interest in oncolytic viruses, virus-like molecules and neuro modulatory drugs.
To address these topics, the team is specialized in mechanistical and proof-of-concept studies using murine tumor models, human in vitro co-culture models and close-to-patient models.
Nadine’s ambition is to develop rationally-designed and effective treatment strategies for malignancies with high unmet need, such as pancreatic cancer.
Areas of interest: Pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer
Email: nvanmontfoort@lumc.nl
