dr. Willem Daneels (MD)
Staff member Clinical Hematologist – Department of hematology – UZGent
Doctoral fellow - Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics – UGent (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences)
Doctoral fellow (Baekeland mandate) – Orionis Biosciences BV
Principal Investigators: prof. Jan Tavernier (PhD) & prof. Fritz Offner (MD, PhD)
Research focus
Care for patients with lymphoprolipheratieve disorders : At the Ghent University Hospital I am predominantly involved in the care for patients with all types of lymphoprolipherative disorders such as Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL), Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) such as the B-cell derived Diffuse Large B-Cell lymphoma, Follicular lymphoma, Mantle Cell Lymphoma, Marginal Zone Lymphoma, Chronic Lymphatic Leukemia, etc… and T-cell derived Peripheral T cell Lymphoma, Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma, Follicular T-helper cell lymphoma, Mycosis Fungoides, etc…
We strive to providing the state-of-the art treatments to all patients. This includes treatments with immuno(chemo)therapy, small molecules, T cell redirected therapies such as bispecific antibodies and chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy (CAR-T) and many more.
Through biobanking of various patient-derived materials, we explore the potential use of several biomarkers for diagnosis, early-detection and prognostication in lymphoprolipherative disorders.
To further improve on the standard-of-care, we actively include many patients in one of our clinical trials. These range from first-in-human trials, exploring novel treatments with a potential for disruptive innovation, though phase 3 trials that aim to replace the current standard-of-care with a better one.
- Doctoral research project : focused on developing more clinically relevant models of lymphomas to evaluate AcTakines (Activity-On-Target-Cytokines) in combination with nanoCAR-T cells as novel immunotherapeutics. To mimic the real-world situation as much as possible we develop humanized Patient-Derived Tumor Xenograft (PDTX) models, by implanting malignant lymphomas directly originating from patient biopsies in immunodeficient mice, who express a human immune system after human stem cell transplantation. This will enable us to address key questions concerning the treatment of patient-derived tumors including their tumor-micro-environment in a setting harboring a human immune system. This is of paramount importance for preclinical drug development in immunotherapy where both target antigen and effector cells are human and therefore beyond the reach of non-human animal models. We have already established >10 PDTX models of non-Hodgkin lymphomas and 1 Merkel cell carcinoma (a rare type of skin tumor). These models are used to evaluate the mode of action and tumor eradication efficacy of novel immunotherapeutics among which huCD20 and huCD70 directed nanoCAR-T cells and a novel class of targeted anti-cancer therapy: AcTakines (Activity-On-Target-Cytokines).
- Collaboration with the Belgian Cancer Registry: determine the real-world pattern of care in adult Diffuse Large B-Cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and Follicular Lymphoma (FL) in Belgium. Evaluation of the real-life impact of several known prognostic factors, age and comorbidities in treatment decisions and outcome.
Biography
- 2009: Bachelor of Medicine, Ghent University
- 2013: Master of Medicine, Ghent University
- 2018: Belgian Hematology Exam (BHS)
- 2018-2023: Doctoral Research ‘Establishment of a CD20-positive lymphoma PDX (Patient-Derived Xenografts) pipeline and assessment of treatment with Activity-on-Target Interferons’ – (VLAIO Baekeland Mandate (HBC.2021.0231))
- 2019: European Hematology Exam (EHA)
- 2020: Master of Medicine in Specialist Medicine (Internal Medicine), Ugent
- 2020: Recognition of special professional competence in haematology
- 2020-2023: Consulting Clinical Hematologist – Ghent University Hospital
- 2023: Staff member department of hematology, Ghent University Hospital
- 2023: Member of the BHS subcommittee for Lymphoprolipherative Diseases (LPD)
AWARDS: - SAFYHR Award - Sanofi Award for Young Hematologist Research - BHS General Annual Meeting 2021 – ‘The development of advanced humanized patient-derived tumor xenograft models of lymphoproliferative malignancies for the evaluation of novel therapeutics.’
- BeiGeneration Award for ‘projects focused on the optimization of care for patients with B-cell hematological malignancies’ - BHS General Annual Meeting 2023 – ‘Mapping the real-world trajectory of lymphoma patients in Belgium, finding answers in large numbers.’
MEMBERSHIPS: - Belgian Hematological Association (BHS)
- European Hematological Association (EHA)
- Cancer Research Institute Ghent (CRIG)
- The Lymphoma Study Association (LYSA)
- BHS subcommittee for Lymphoprolipherative Diseases (LPD)
Key publications
- “Real-World Evaluation of Treatments and Outcomes of Follicular Lymphoma in Belgium.” 40th General Annual Meeting of the Belgian Hematology Society 2025, Abstracts, 2025.
- “Characterizing the Cell-Free Transcriptome in a Humanized Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Patient-Derived Tumor Xenograft Model for RNA-Based Liquid Biopsy in a Preclinical Setting.” INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES, vol. 25, no. 18, 2024, doi:10.3390/ijms25189982.
- “Knocking out CD70 Rescues CD70-Specific NanoCAR T Cells from Antigen-Induced Exhaustion.” CANCER IMMUNOLOGY RESEARCH, vol. 12, no. 9, 2024, pp. 1236–51, doi:10.1158/2326-6066.cir-23-0677.
- “High Efficacy of HuCD20-Targeted AcTaferon in Humanized Patient Derived Xenograft Models of Aggressive B Cell Lymphoma.” EXPERIMENTAL HEMATOLOGY & ONCOLOGY, vol. 13, no. 1, 2024, doi:10.1186/s40164-024-00524-4.
- “Real-World Estimation of First- and Second-Line Treatments for Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Using Health Insurance Data : A Belgian Population-Based Study.” FRONTIERS IN ONCOLOGY, vol. 12, 2022, doi:10.3389/fonc.2022.824704.
- “Direct and Indirect Anti-Leukemic Properties of Activity-on-Target Interferons for the Treatment of T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.” HAEMATOLOGICA, vol. 107, no. 6, 2022, pp. 1448–53, doi:10.3324/haematol.2021.278913.
- “Real World Application of R‐chop for Diffuse Large B‐cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) in Belgium and Its Impact on Survival.” HEMATOLOGICAL ONCOLOGY, vol. 39, no. S2, 2021, pp. 431–32, doi:10.1002/hon.57_2881.
- “Cyclin D2 Overexpression Drives B1a-Derived MCL-like Lymphoma in Mice.” JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE, vol. 218, no. 10, 2021, doi:10.1084/jem.20202280.
- “Real World Population-Based Exploration of the Pathology Subtyping and Treatment-Modalities of Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma in Belgium in Relation to Survival.” BLOOD, vol. 134, no. suppl. 1, 2019, pp. 2894–2894, doi:10.1182/blood-2019-122443.
Contact & links
- Lab address:
campus UZ Gent, C. Heymanslaan 10, 9000 Gent
T+32 9 332 21 25, entrance 12, route 1460 (secretariat)
Department of Hematology – UZGent - Willem Daneels is interested to receive invitations for talks or presentations