Marianne Boes

Biography

Marianne Boes obtained most of her research training in the USA, from 1996-2008. She performed PhD research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), at the Koch Institute for integrative Cancer Research under supervision of prof. Jianzhu Chen. Here she studied inflammation mechanisms using mouse models. Postdoctoral work she performed at Harvard Medical School in the laboratory of prof. Hidde Ploegh, where she discovered the rapid and dynamic endosomal remodeling process in dendritic cells that occurs immediately upon antigen-specific T-cell contact (Boes et al, Nature 2002). In 2004, Dr. Boes started her independent research lab at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, financed in part by an NWO-Veni grant in 2004 and a large NIH-RO1 grant that was awarded to her. In 2008, she moved her lab to the UMC-Utrecht. Boes heads the inflammation laboratory in the Laboratory of Translational Immunology. She published over 100 articles (H-index 34) in international journals, including Nature, Science, Immunity, J. Exp. Med., Nature Immunology and J. Clin. Invest. She and her group received numerous prestigious national and international grants and awards. Boes serves as associate editor for several journals and is a regular reviewer for most major journals in her field. Marianne Boes is captivated by the central position of immunology in health and disease, and is excited by discovery of new connections between immunology and other disciplines. These connections she addresses for clinical application by targeting of pathways. Her research aims to clarify such immunological pathways in the immature immune system of children, most immediately applicable to pediatric cancers. Her personal commitment is the research training of biomedical (physician)/scientists. She is Faculty of Medicine-biomedical sciences member of the Education Committee of the Graduate School of Life Sciences, and serves as coordinator of the course 'Advanced Immunology' for PhD students. She is also current member of the I&I graduate school teaching committee, where she also chairs the I&I Eijkman seminar committee. The inadequate use of immune pathways can result in immune activation, such as seen in auto inflammation and autoimmunity. Cancer development on the other hand can reflect a deficiency in immune function. Boes focuses research on immune pathways that control leukocyte function. Approaches include the genetic screening of primary immunodeficiency patients and cancer patients, for discovery of new immune checkpoint proteins to pursue as targets for immunotherapy. The goal is to develop and apply new immunotherapy to auto inflammatory and autoimmune disorders such as Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), and pediatric cancers. Research in Boes lab is supported financially by grants from NWO, the European Research Council (ERC), and various industry partners. Boes collaborates with both basic and clinically oriented investigators at the UMC-Utrecht. Several collaborative projects exist with labs elsewhere in Europe and in the USA. Marianne Boes obtained most of her research training in the USA, from 1996-2008. She performed PhD research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), at the Koch Institute for integrative Cancer Research under supervision of prof. Jianzhu Chen. Here she studied inflammation mechanisms using mouse models. Postdoctoral work she performed at Harvard Medical School in the laboratory of prof. Hidde Ploegh, where she discovered the rapid and dynamic endosomal remodeling process in dendritic cells that occurs immediately upon antigen-specific T-cell contact (Boes et al, Nature 2002). In 2004, Dr. Boes started her independent research lab at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, financed in part by an NWO-Veni grant in 2004 and a large NIH-RO1 grant that was awarded to her. In 2008, she moved her lab to the UMC-Utrecht. Boes heads the inflammation laboratory in the Laboratory of Translational Immunology. She published over 100 articles (H-index 34) in international journals, including Nature, Science, Immunity, J. Exp. Med., Nature Immunology and J. Clin. Invest. She and her group received numerous prestigious national and international grants and awards. Boes serves as associate editor for several journals and is a regular reviewer for most major journals in her field. Marianne Boes is captivated by the central position of immunology in health and disease, and is excited by discovery of new connections between immunology and other disciplines. These connections she addresses for clinical application by targeting of pathways. Her research aims to clarify such immunological pathways in the immature immune system of children, most immediately applicable to pediatric cancers. Her personal commitment is the research training of biomedical (physician)/scientists. She is Faculty of Medicine-biomedical sciences member of the Education Committee of the Graduate School of Life Sciences, and serves as coordinator of the course 'Advanced Immunology' for PhD students. She is also current member of the I&I graduate school teaching committee, where she also chairs the I&I Eijkman seminar committee. The inadequate use of immune pathways can result in immune activation, such as seen in auto inflammation and autoimmunity. Cancer development on the other hand can reflect a deficiency in immune function. Boes focuses research on immune pathways that control leukocyte function. Approaches include the genetic screening of primary immunodeficiency patients and cancer patients, for discovery of new immune checkpoint proteins to pursue as targets for immunotherapy. The goal is to develop and apply new immunotherapy to auto inflammatory and autoimmune disorders such as Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), and pediatric cancers. Research in Boes lab is supported financially by grants from NWO, the European Research Council (ERC), and various industry partners. Boes collaborates with both basic and clinically oriented investigators at the UMC-Utrecht. Several collaborative projects exist with labs elsewhere in Europe and in the USA.

Research Interest

Infection & Immunity, Child Health