dr. Arne Claeys (PhD)
Postdoctoral researcher - Lab of computational cancer genomics and tumor evolution (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, UGent)
Principal investigator: prof. Jimmy Van den Eynden (MD, PhD)
Research focus
The human immune system plays a crucial role in preventing tumour formation, a theory that has been reinforced by the success of cancer immunotherapy. Immune recognition of cancer cells is primarily mediated by neoantigens presented at the cell membrane via Major Histocompatibility Complex class I molecules (MHC-I). While MHC-I presentable neoantigens have been extensively studied, the role of MHC-II presentable neoantigens remains underexplored. My research investigates the role of MHC-II presentable neoantigens in cancer development and how they impact response to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy. To this end, I develop novel computational approaches to quantify selection against MHC class II presentable neoantigens, evaluate them at different stages of tumour progression, and assess their potential as biomarkers to predict ICB response.
Biography
- Faculty Interim Fellowship (November 2023 - ongoing)
- Stand up to Cancer (Kom op tegen Kanker) EvdS PhD finalizing fellowship (November 2022 - October 2023)
- PhD fellow: Lab of computational cancer genomics and tumor evolution, Ghent University (2019-2023)
- Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering, Ghent University (2023).
- Master of Science in Bioinformatics, Ghent University (2018)
- Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Ghent University (2016)
Key publications
- Benchmark of tools for in silico prediction of MHC class I and class II genotypes from NGS data. BMC Genomics, 2023, (PMID: 37161318)
- Quantification of Neoantigen-Mediated Immunoediting in Cancer Evolution—Letter. Cancer Research, 2023, (PMID: 36919421)
- Low immunogenicity of common cancer hot spot mutations resulting in false immunogenic selection signals. PLOS Genetics, 2021, (PMID: 33556087)
- Preclinical exploration of the DNA damage response pathway using the interactive neuroblastoma cell line explorer CLEAN. NAR Cancer, 2024, (PMID: 38213997)
- A clinically annotated post-mortem approach to study multi-organ somatic mutational clonality in normal tissues. Scientific Reports, 2022, (PMID: 35725896)
- ATR inhibition enables complete tumour regression in ALK-driven NB mouse models. Nature Communications, 2021, (PMID: 34819497)
- ALK ligand ALKAL2 potentiates MYCN‐driven neuroblastoma in the absence of ALK mutation. EMBO Journal, 2021, (PMID: 33411331)
Contact & links
- Lab address: Department of Human Structure and Repair, Unit of Anatomy and Embryology, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, UZP123, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
- ORCID
- ResearchGate
- Computational Cancer Genomics and Tumor Evolution lab
- Arne Claeys is interested to receive invitations for presentations or talks