dr. Lena Boehme (PhD)

My research focuses on the molecular mechanisms driving the differentiation of conventional αβ and unconventional γδ T cells from bipotent precursors, which I study using multiomic single cell technologies and complementary experimental validation. Both T cell subtypes play unique but critical roles in the body’s own defense against cancerous cells and are being explored for immunotherapy in various cancer types. αβ T cells form the basis of current CAR-T therapies but face limitations in their efficacy due to their strict MHC dependency. In contrast, γδ T cells exhibit MHC-independent cytotoxicity and dual innate/adaptive functions, rendering them promising candidates for off-the-shelf immunotherapies. Improving our fundamental understanding of how these distinct T cell subsets develop under physiological circumstances is vital for optimizing in vitro differentiation protocols that could pave the way for translational application.
The thymic microenvironment, including cell-cell interactions between hematopoietic precursors and resident stromal and immune cells and the presence of relevant growth factors, plays an essential role in the support and regulation of normal T cell development. To shed more light on this subject, I have been involved in a recent effort of the Human Cell Atlas Thymus Network to map the molecular and cellular organization of the thymus throughout early human life. Using integrated single cell and spatial approaches we were able to pinpoint age-associated changes in stromal and immune cell distribution yet early establishment of robust canonical T cell differentiation trajectories. The findings provide a valuable foundation for understanding the role of the microenvironment in human T cell development and further characterization of the tissue niches associated with the establishment of various T cell types will inform strategies to replicate these conditions in vitro in the context of regenerative immunotherapy.
 

• MSc in Molecular Medicine (2016, Charité Berlin)
• MRes in Biomedical & Translational Science (2017, King’s College London)
• PhD in Molecular Genetics (2021, King’s College London)
• Postdoctoral Researcher, Taghon lab, UGent (since 2021)
• FWO Junior Postdoctoral Fellow (since 2022)
   

• Lab address: Campus UZ Gent, C. Heymanslaan 10, MRB2, entrance 38, 9000 Gent, Belgium
• Taghon Lab
• Lena Boehme  is interested to receive invitations for presentations or talks