The immune system in the spread of malignant cells
In principle, our immune system should be able to fight malignant tumours. But researcher Kirsten Pondman says what we are seeing more and more often, is that tumours are very good at misleading our immune system, and actually use it to spread through the body. Using a Veni grant, she is studying this process.
Pondman hopes to find an answer to the following questions: which immune system cells specifically play a role in cancer metastasis, and how does this happen. The researcher had always been very interested in how the immune system works. After completing her PhD research, Kirsten Pondman started moving more in the direction of cancer research. Her grant application was for breast cancer research, but she has since also been in contact with an oncologist who is just as interested in pancreatic cancer. ‘The type of cancer does not really matter that much for my research’, explains Pondman.
During her research she uses organ-on-a-chip technology and microfluidics to study the effects of immune cells on cancer cells, and to see how metastases form in specific tissues. ‘Some researchers look at the circulating tumour cells and metastases that they can find in their patients’ bodies, but in my opinion that is rather like looking for a needle in a haystack. I also don’t see the point of injecting human tumour cells into mice, because then the mouse’s immune system has to be shut down completely, and everything looks totally different.’
Pondman has set herself a number of goals for the three years she has to complete her research. Her main goal? She at least wants to show which immune cells play a role in the spread of cancer, and in which way. ‘This is in essence fundamental research’, she explains. ‘Once we know which cells propel a tumour forward and in what way, then a very specific medicine can be developed to combat this at a later stage.’
Because, according to Dr Pondman, the primary tumour is usually not the cause of death of patients. ‘In 90% of cases, patients die because the cancer has spread. So if this research can help slow the spread of tumours, then we will have solved a significant problem.’
Education
As an assistant professor, she now mainly uses Bachelor’s and Master’s students to do the legwork for her research. Her teaching includes the interaction between biomaterials and the immune system. ‘I really enjoy it’, she says. ‘Especially because students come up with interesting new questions that are very thought-provoking for me.’ What characterises her is that she always wants to stay as relevant as possible. ‘I like to step away from basic knowledge, and create a link to what I and the people around me are researching. Of course there is a lot going on around the world with regard to cancer research, but I like to stay close to home. What makes my work especially interesting is the alternation between conducting research and sharing knowledge.’
About Kirsten Pondman
Kirsten Pondman studied Biomedical Engineering and is currently Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS) at UT. In 2022, she received a Veni grant worth 280,000 euros from the Dutch Research Council (NWO), a research funding body. She uses this grant to study the role of the immune system in the spread of malignant tumours. The grant is intended for recent PhD graduates to further develop their ideas over the course of three years.
Press photos
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