Our immune system has the capability to detect and eliminate cancer. Unfortunately, cancer develops mechanisms to evade and suppress the immune system’s attack, consequently resulting in cancer outgrowth. To reinforce the immune system in a highly controlled manner to overcome the cancer suppression, several strategies can be employed, of which a highly innovative field is the use of immune system-stimulating materials. Most of the time, these materials are extremely small, ranging from micro-to nanoscale, which allows to precisely steer a cellular response. Nanosized Immunofilaments are one such material that effectively engage an immune cell response against cancer cells, reducing both the primary tumor growth and preventing metastases formation in pre-clinical testing.
Lea Weiss (1994) obtained her Master’s degree in Molecular Mechanisms of Disease, cum laude, at the Radboud University in 2019. In the same year, she started her PhD journey in the group of Prof. Dr. C. Figdor at the Medical BioSciences Department, Division Tumor Immunology at the Radboudumc. Currently, she continues working in Figdor’s group as a postdoctoral researcher.