How tumor antigens are being perceived by dendritic cells (DCs) determines whether the tumor will

be tolerated or rejected by our immune system. Over the past years, immune checkpoint blockade

therapy (ICB) has revolutionized cancer therapy by removing so-called checkpoints that prevent our

immune system from properly functioning against the tumor cells. Although ICB showed high

potential in some patients, many more patients hardly reacted. This shows the urgent need to better

understand the different parameters that define a successful anti-tumor immune response. This

project aims at contributing to this goal by mapping the pathways that drive dendritic cell maturation

within the tumor and by investigating how tumor antigens are being decoded by dendritic cells

(DCs). Can we predict whether the tumor will be rejected or tolerated by looking at biomarkers on

DCs and can we understand how changes over time within the tumor context affect DC maturation.

Over the past few years, my lab gained a lot of expertise in DC maturation, which lays the foundation

for the current PhD project.