dr. Robin Demuynck (PhD)

My research focuses on understanding how immunogenic cell death (ICD) reshapes the tumor microenvironment by reprogramming stromal cells into active regulators of anti-tumor immunity. While the tumor stroma has traditionally been viewed as passive or immunosuppressive, our work demonstrates that they actively respond to danger signals released by dying cancer cells.
Building on these discoveries, my current research aims to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that drive stromal cell activation following immunogenic cell death and to exploit these pathways for the development of innovative cancer immunotherapies. By integrating cancer biology, immunology, and translational research, I combine advanced in vitro models, mouse tumor models, flow cytometry, high-resolution imaging, functional T-cell assays, and single-cell and spatial transcriptomics to study cellular interactions within the tumor microenvironment. Ultimately, my goal is to identify novel therapeutic strategies that enhance anti-tumor immunity by targeting the tumor microenvironment.
 

Robin Demuynck is a Junior Postdoctoral Fellow at the Laboratory of Cell Death Investigation and Therapy (CDIT), Ghent University, under the supervision of Prof. Isabelle Hoorens.
He started his PhD in September 2020 under the supervision of Prof. Dmitri V. Krysko (MD, PhD). One month later, in October 2020, he was awarded an FWO PhD Fellowship for Fundamental Research by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO). During his doctoral research, he uncovered a previously unrecognized role for stromal cells in anti-tumor immunity, demonstrating that they actively respond to dying cancer cells undergoing immunogenic cell death. in 2025, he received a CRIG Young Investigator Proof-of-Concept grant. Robin successfully defended his PhD in September 2025.
In 2026, Robin was awarded a three-year FWO Junior Postdoctoral Fellowship, supported by the Fonds Suzanne Duchesne of the King Baudouin Foundation.
 

• ‘A 3D Cell Death Assay to Quantitatively Determine Ferroptosis in Spheroids’. Cells, 2020. (PMID: 32183000)
• ‘Immunogenic ferroptosis and where to find it?’, Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer, 2021 (PMID: 34903554)
• ‘CX3CL1 release during immunogenicity apoptosis is associated with enhanced anti-tumour immunity’. Frontiers in Immunology, 2024. (PMID: 39011040)
• 'Palmitoylation regulates ferroptosis and anti-tumor immunity', Nature Cancer, 2025. (PMID: 40316767)
• ‘Immunogenic cell death and tertiary lymphoid structures: bridging tumour cell death and immune organization’. Nature Reviews Immunology, 2026. (PMID: 42749753)
   

• Lab address: Campus UZ Ghent, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, 4B3, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
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• Robin Demuynck is interested to receive invitations for presentations or talks