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Focus of research
Dirk Michiel Pegtel PhD. While an undergraduate student Michiel (University of Groningen, The Netherlands) conducted practical training at the National Cancer Institute (Bethesda, USA) with Dr John J. Letterio and obtained a PhD in Immunology at Tufts University Medical School (Boston, USA) with Prof David Thorley Lawson working on Epstein Barr Virus induced cancers in collaboration with members of the MIT/Harvard Broad Institute (Cambridge, USA). After postdoctoral training at the Netherlands Cancer Institute with Dr John Collard working on tumorcell biology behaviour and relationship with Epstein Barr virus in Lymphomas and autoimmune disease with Prof J. Middeldorp (VUmc, The Netherlands), Michiel started the "Exosomes Research Group" at the Amsterdam UMC/Cancer Center Amsterdam. Current members of the ERG study i) the molecular dynamics of exosome biogenesis and release ii) small RNA sorting into exosomes with the purpose of developing liquid biopsy strategies and iii) exploiting exosomes and EVs for therapeutic delivery. For his early discovery of functional transfer of exosome-bound miRNAs, Michiel was awarded the Beijerinck Premium by the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences (KNAW). Michiel is an inventor of multiple patents and co-founder of ExBiome B.V. a molecular small RNA diagnostics start-up that aims to develop liquid biopsy tests to predict response to therapy early such that clinicians are better informed on the efficacy of treatment.