Léon C. Van Kempen

Biography

Dr. Léon C. van Kempen studied molecular biology and biochemistry at the Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands. As part of his PhD program, he elected for a 1 year training in melanoma molecular biology at the Wistar Institute, Philadelphia. After obtaining his PhD cum laude in 2001, he became a postdoctoral fellow of the Dutch Cancer Society and went to the University of California in San Francisco to train in cellular and molecular mechanisms of the protumorigenic role of the tumor microenvironment. He returned to the department of Pathology at the University Medical Centre Nijmegen in 2002 and was appointed associate professor in 2008 with research topics in melanoma, vulvar carcinoma and head and neck cancers.  In 2010, he joined the department of Pathology at the Jewish General Hospital with a research program in melanoma, and was instrumental in the creation of the Molecular Pathology Center (MPC). He is the MPC’s chief operating officer since its opening in 2013. In 2017, Dr. van Kempen was appointed assistant professor at McGill’s department of Pathology, and also holds a position as clinical molecular biologist in pathology at the University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands

Research Interest

Dr. Van Kempen was the first to demonstrate a role for Activated Leukocyte Cell Adhesion Molecule (ALCAM, CD166) in melanoma, and revealed the molecular mechanism of the ALCAM-mediated cell-cell interaction. He was one of the first in 2001 to demonstrate that tumor development not only comprises an oncogenic transformation, but also implies the contribution of non-tumor cells and even matrix proteins in patient tissues and animal models for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, vulvar carcinoma, melanoma. In Montreal, he discovered a novel X-linked tumor suppressor gene in melanoma whose loss of expression strongly correlates with poor survival. The aims of his current studies are to understand how X-chromosome abnormalities contribute to poor prognosis in melanoma.  Accomplishments of the biomarker and validation program at the Molecular Pathology Centre include next generation sequencing assays, nanostring gene expression profiling, and digital droplet PCR test that have been implemented in a clinical setting.