Rafal Hanc

My research focuses on how dying cells shape the immune system in chronic inflammatory disease, with a current emphasis on rheumatoid arthritis. I study immunogenic cell death, a form of regulated cell death in which dying cells release danger signals that activate immune cells. In cancer, this process is deliberately harnessed, because it can turn an immunologically silent tumor into one that is recognized and attacked by T cells. In the joint, the same mechanisms may work against us. We investigate whether immunogenic cell death in joint tissue can trigger a systemic autoimmune response that contributes to the onset and persistence of rheumatoid arthritis.
Although my main disease model is not cancer, the underlying biology is shared. Immunogenic cell death, tertiary lymphoid structures and the balance between tolerance and activation of T and B cells are central to both autoimmunity and anti-tumor immunity. Insights from one field can therefore inform the other. Understanding what makes cell death immunogenic in a joint can help identify how to amplify it in tumors, and how to dampen it in autoimmune disease.
I also work on cancer immunology topics, including tertiary lymphoid structures, and I follow developments in cell therapies such as CAR T cells. I am keen to connect with cancer researchers and clinicians within CRIG, and I am particularly interested in collaborations that combine immunological expertise with translational cancer research.
 

Rafal Hanc obtained his MSc in Biomedical Sciences at Ghent University, where he specialized in cancer immunology. He carried out his thesis research in the Cell Death Investigation and Therapy (CDIT) Laboratory under the supervision of dr. Robin Demuynck and the late prof. dr. Dmitri Krysko. He is now based at the VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research (VIB-IRC), where his research centers on rheumatoid arthritis. He studies how immunogenic cell death in joint tissue may drive systemic autoimmunity and also focuses on drug development against rheumatoid arthritis. Through his background in cancer immunology and immunotherapy, he remains interested in how these mechanisms and therapeutic strategies intersect with cancer research.
 

• Immunogenic cell death and tertiary lymphoid structures: bridging tumour cell death and immune organization. Nat Rev Immunol (2026)
   

• Lab address: VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research, Ghent University Hospital, entrance 38 (=MRB2) , Rheumatology, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
• IRC
• Elewaut Lab
• LinkedIn
• Rafal Hanc is interested to receive invitations for talks or presentations