Associate Professor, AII - Immunology Affiliatie UvA Affiliatie VU Associate Professor, CCA - Cancer Treatment and quality of life Associate Professor, CCA - Cancer biology and immunology CCA - Cancer immunology Other Academic Staff, Hematology laboratory Associate Professor, Landsteiner Laboratory Associate Professor, Landsteiner Laboratory

PI
Specialization

 Hematopoiesis | Stem Cell Transplantation biology | Cellular Therapy 

Focus of research
  • The homeostatic, regenerative and metastatic Bone Marrow Micro-Environment: Focused on hematopoietic stem cell regeneration, the mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) compartment, and new cellular therapy development.
  • Generating and Optimizing Cellular therapy products: Investigating the generation of innate lymphoid cells and CAR-T cells for adoptive therapies.
  • Advancing Gene Editing Techniques in Hematopoietic Stem and progenitor Cells: Enhancing gene editing efficacy in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells using CRISPR/Cas9.

Carlijn Voermans is head of the Cell Therapy Department at Sanquin Research & Labservices, Amsterdam and appointed at the department of Hematology of the AUMC, specializing in stem cell transplantation and cellular therapeutic products (ATMPs), particularly in the field of hemato-oncological malignancies and solid tumors. She is involved in education, teaching modules in stem cells and cellular therapy, training for hemato-oncology care providers, and delivering lectures to students and at (inter)national conferences. The combined function as PI (since 2017 at AMC) and head also explains the translational nature of her work.

The central translational research theme of her research group concerns improving bone marrow function after stem cell transplantation and developing new cellular therapies. In particular, the interactions between the hematopoietic and stromal compartments are central themes. In 2011 she obtained a LSBR fellowship entitled “Mesenchymal stromal cells and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; from bench to bedside” which further expanded her research group. A number of the current projects (LSBR, PPO-C, ZONMW-Game Changer, Kika) are and were carried out in close collaboration with clinical partners from the Amsterdam UMC, Erasmus MC and PMC. Current projects mainly focus on preventing and reducing Graft versus Host disease, studying the stromal compartment of children with metastatic neuroblastoma and correcting hematopoietic stem cells for patients with sickle cell disease. Within the department of Hematology of the AUMC we strive to unroll a full cell therapy program including the generation of point of care CAR-T cells for the treatment of multiple myeloma.

Activities

  • Member of the board of the Dutch Society for Stem Cell Research (DSSCR) 
  • Member of Scientific Advisory boards of the LSBR
  • Member of the scientific committee ZonMw PTO2
  • Member of the HOVON Working Group on Donor and quality affairs
  • Member of the working party of the WSN
  • Inspector for the Joint Accreditation Committee of ISCT and EBMT (JACIE)