“My interest in immunology was sparked by my teacher at Leiden University - Marius Giphart. He taught a fantastic immunology course, the best in the curriculum. I was profoundly intrigued by the elegant complexity of the immune system and the way it continuously strives to maintain a balance in interaction with the environment. Immunology calls for conceptual thinking and that fits me like a glove. I highly admire scientists who invent and develop advanced technology, but that is not my strength. I find it challenging to learn how to think. So, when I did a sabbatical five years ago, I went to the laboratory of Ruslan Medzhitov at Yale School of Medicine. He is a great conceptual thinker, and I learned a lot from him. I learned to ask the big questions and pursue unconventional concepts to bring my research to the next level.”

“I guess I did not really know what I wanted to become. I always tell my students – and my own kids as well – that anything you delve into will become interesting. My life would have been equally fun if I had chosen to study linguistics. So, I considered a variety of studies and opted for medicine in the end. However, there was a numerus fixus and I was initially not placed. Therefore, I started studying biomedical sciences. I found the clinically oriented courses less interesting than the biomedical ones, so I decided to continue studying biomedical sciences even though I was placed to study medicine after one year.”

“I am driven to follow my curiosity, solve puzzles, and grasp things that nobody else understands. In addition, I enjoy working with young people. I am by no means unique in this regard. Working on my inaugural speech, I asked 10-12 colleagues what made them want to stay in science despite the inevitable frustration that it involves. Nearly all of them replied that they enjoyed solving puzzles and working with young people. The road from fundamental discoveries to clinical translations is very long, so your main drive must be intrinsic. Nevertheless, it is very gratifying if your research is translated into clinical applications. Nine companies are currently working on the molecule that I discovered in 1996. One of them is running clinical trials that aim to bring therapeutics to cancer patients and others are following. That is very rewarding indeed.”

"I discovered it during my postdoc at the DNAX research institute in California. LAIR-1 is an immunological checkpoint, meaning that it suppresses the immune system to prevent inflammation and auto-immune reactions. The immune system can be activated when immunological checkpoints are blocked. Until about five years ago, I was performing purely fundamental research on the biology of LAIR-1. It was difficult to obtain funding for this work because funders did not see the relevance. However, it gradually became clear that blocking immunological checkpoints could stimulate a patient’s immune system to attack tumour cells. In 2013, the journal Science labelled cancer immunotherapy as ‘breakthrough of the year’. Immunological checkpoints are at the centre of attention now. Blocking LAIR-1 is considered a promising novel therapeutic avenue in combination with existing treatments. It takes substantially less effort to convince funders of the importance of my work now and I am collaborating with many companies.”

“I was slightly cautious at first but discovered that public-private collaborations are highly productive and fun for both parties. My research group has the expertise and infrastructure to run detailed mechanism-of-action studies. Companies harbour substantial knowledge and funding, and they can generate tools like high-quality recombinant proteins much easier than academic laboratories. So, we have a lot to offer each other. Oncode Institute has assisted me with the legal and business aspects of my collaborative research agreements. The importance of Oncode’s support in business development cannot be overemphasized because it enables scientists to translate their results and truly make an impact on patients’ lives. In addition, Oncode has brought me many fruitful collaborations with scientists that I did not know before. I highly appreciate that.” 

“I believe that a diverse team is the key to success. A team full of people that resemble me would not be successful, so I strive to recruit a diverse group of people that openly disagree with me. When mentoring young people, I try to tailor my approach to their individual needs. Some require more confidence; others must be encouraged to ask for help. My goal is to bring out the best in people and to help them decide on the next steps in their careers. I am equally proud of people that pursue careers outside academia as I am of people that become professors. There should be room for everyone’s talent.”

I like cycling, running and being outdoors. Most importantly, I enjoy spending time with my family. My husband is a clinician, and we have three children aged 18, 16, and 13 – two girls and a boy. The whole family joined me when I went to Yale for my sabbatical five years ago. The kids went to school there. It was very special to share this experience. This summer, we returned there for a vacation, and we realized again what a fantastic year that has been. When the corona pandemic started in 2020 and we had to work from home, the kids said: ‘Our family can do this because we also spent a lot of time with just the five of us in America’. I love my job, but I deliberately create spare time and devote it to my family, to keep things in balance.”

Credits: interview by Linda van den Berg; photography by Marloes Verweij, Laloes Fotografie