dr. Sam Ernst (PhD)
Postdoctoral fellow - Department of Human Structure and Repair, Laboratory of Experimental Cancer Research (LECR), Experimental Surgery Lab (SurgX) - Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University
Principal investigators: prof. Olivier De Wever (PhD) and prof. Wim Ceelen (MD, PhD)
Research focus
During my PhD, I studied colorectal peritoneal metastases, with a particular focus on the tumor microenvironment (TME) and a novel TLR7/8-based immunotherapeutic strategy. Within this work, I established, extensively optimized, and characterized a 3D functional ex vivo patient-derived tumor fragment (PDTF) platform at the UZ Gent campus.
PDTFs preserve key features of the native tumor, including malignant, immune, and stromal compartments. By combining functional treatment testing with multi-omics approaches, the platform enables detailed investigation of patient-specific treatment responses and dynamic interactions within the TME. It can be applied across different cancer types and treatment modalities, including immunotherapy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and targeted therapy.
During my postdoctoral research, I will further develop this platform with the aim of translating PDTFs towards clinical application in functional precision oncology.