Cellular immunotherapy of cancer

The field of immunotherapy is currently one of the most promising developments in medical science now helping thousands of patients with cancer or autoimmune diseases. At KIA we have established a group engaging in the development of new ways to make the patient’s T cells capable of killing cancer cells and curing the patient using the chimeric antigen-receptor T cells (CAR T cells) method. The group works in close collaboration with the Morten Gjerstorff and Karsten Skjødt groups at IMM, SDU, and with professors Niels Abildgaard and Charlotte Nyvold at the Dept. of Hematology, OUH and with other national groups headed by Inge-Marie Svane  (CCIT-DK), Lars Rønn Olsen (DTU), Rasmus O. Bak (Aarhus University) and Bjarne Kuno Møller (Skejby Hospital). Among our international collaborators are Tudor Fulga (Oxford University) and one of the strongest groups in the field: the Marcela V. Maus group at Massachusetts’ General Hospital and Harvard University. Dr. Maus is adjunct professor at KIA.

Principal investigator

Professor Torben Barington
Department of Clinical Research, SDU
Department of Clinical Immunology, Odense University Hospital
J. B. Winsløws Vej 4, DK-5000 Odense C

Mike Barnkob, MD, PhD, postdoc
Department of Clinical Research, SDU
Department of Clinical Immunology, Odense University Hospital
J. B. Winsløws Vej 4, DK-5000 Odense C

Mette Stæhr, cand.scient., PhD
Department of Clinical Research, SDU
Department of Clinical Immunology, Odense University Hospital
J. B. Winsløws Vej 4, DK-5000 Odense C

Members of the team

Christian Nielsen, cand.scient., PhD
Jakub Krejcik, MD, PhD, guest researcher
Peter Brændstrup, MD, guest researcher, senior registrar
Emil Birch Christensen, cand.scient., research assistent
Kimmie Bjerre Christensen, cand.scient., research assistent
Lasse Vedel Jørgensen, cand.scient., research assistent
Caroline Louise Stougaard, pregraduate student
Karoline Ejby, pregraduat student 
Malene Bech Nielsen, pregraduat student
Mads Dixen Munck, MSc-student
Jesper Hjortshøj Dujardin, pregraduat student
Moritz Schaefer, MSc-student 
Philip Johannes Bech Englund, master's student
Zelvera Ismetova Usheva, research assistent 
Kamilla Bou Færch, research bioanalyst

Ongoing projects

Development of Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cells Targeting the B-cell 
Receptor Signaling Pathway
    

Project options for students

CAR T-cells to combat cancer