PROF.DR.

Full Professor, AII - Immunology Affiliatie VU Medical Specialist, CCA - Cancer Treatment and quality of life Medical Specialist, CCA - Cancer biology and immunology Full Professor, Hematology

PI
Specialization

Internist-Hematologist

Focus of research

 

  • Treatment of patients with multiple myeloma with novel immunotherapies, such as CAR T-cell therapy and T-cell redirecting bispecific antibodies in phase 1, 2, and 3 clinical trials
  • Improve the clinical outcomes of patients with primary plasma cell leukemia
  • Evaluation of new targets for therapy with a focus on immune therapy
  • Research towards resistance mechanisms towards immunotherapies (antibodies, CAR T-cell therapy, and T-cell redirecting bispecific), in order to improve the activity of these therapies

 

Niels van de Donk is professor in Hematology at the Amsterdam University Medical Center, where he was appointed as full professor in February 2020. He specialized in hematology at the University Medical Center Utrecht. Following a fellowship at the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, he assumed his current post in Amsterdam.

Niels van de Donk’s special interest is the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma. He is the principal investigator of several investigator-initiated studies. Furthermore, he is involved in translational research towards finding new targets for therapy with a focus on immune therapy. He is also involved in the evaluation of new agents in preclinical studies, as well as in early (first-in-man) and more advanced clinical trials. This includes the investigation of antibodies, bispecific antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates, CAR T cells, and next generation immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs and CELMoDs). Another research interest is to obtain an increased understanding of mode of action and mechanisms of resistance of immunotherapeutic agents through in vitro analyses combined with immune monitoring studies.

Van de Donk is author or co-author of a number of books and many papers published in peer-reviewed journals. He is also secretary of the HOVON multiple myeloma working party and scientific secretary of the European Myeloma Network. He is serving on the EHA Scientific Program Committee since 2018.

 

ACTIVITIES

  • Professor in Hematology at the Amsterdam University Medical Center
  • Member Commissie Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (CWO), Cancer Center Amsterdam (CCA); advisory board Cancer Center Amsterdam (CCA)