Current research

Cells of the immune system, e.g., NK and T cells are capable of recognizing cancer cells. However, the infiltration of these cells to the tumor site may be too limited for clinical significance, or the killing capacity of T and NK cells is hampered in the tumor microenvironment by various mechanisms. We study how immune cells with capacity to kill cancer cells can reach the tumor site in higher numbers and with better functional capacity.

Our vision is to unravel mechanisms by which cancer cells avoid killing by cells of the immune system, and use that as a platform for development of novel cancer therapies. My group is international and we collaborate with scientists and clinicians in Denmark and abroad.

Teaching

Responsible for the program “The Immune Defence and Cancer” (http://kurser.ku.dk/course/siik16003u/2017-2018), which is part of the master in Immunology and Inflammation (http://studies.ku.dk/masters/immunology-and-inflammation/). Beyond that regular teaching of undergraduate students at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University. Master and PhD students are supervised during the education in the lab.

Current research

Current projects include:

• Study how platelets bind to T and NK cells and negatively impact on the function of the cells
• Linking oncogenes expressed by cancer cells with immune suppression of T cells in the tumor microenvironment
• Characterization of mechanisms by which cancer cells inhibit functionality of alpha-beta and gamma-delta T cells
• Study how exercise may impact on cells of the immune system, in turn improving anti-cancer immune responses

Fields of interest

• Cancer immunology and immunotherapy
• Immunological effects of exercise

CV

Curriculum vitae;           Per thor Straten

Education and degrees:

April          2009                  Professor, University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

September 1998                   Ph.D.,The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom (Thesis: T-cell response against melanoma)

December 1992                   M.Sc. (Molecular biology), University of Copenhagen. (Thesis: Analysis of T-cell receptor variable region usage in tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) in malignant melanoma)

March 1991                         B.S. in Biology, University of Copenhagen.

Employment:                    

October 2006                      Director, Centre for Cancer Immunotherapy (CCIT), Dept. of Hematology, University Hospital Herlev, Denmark

August 2001                        Group Head, Tumor Immunology Group, Institute of Cancer Biology, Danish Cancer Society, Strandboulevarden 49

                                           DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø

January 1998                       Senior Scientist, Dept. of Cell Biology and Cancer, Danish Cancer Society, Denmark

January 1992                       Scientific Assistant, Dept. of Cell Biology and Cancer, Cancer Society, Denmark

Industry

2003 – 2005                       Co-founder of Survac ApS, CAVAC Aps, RhoVac, and IO Aps. Founder and board member of RhoVac Aps. Co-author of five patents on peptide antigens recognized by CTL.

Teaching/reviewing:          Tutorial lectures on tumor immunology at universities and the industry. Supervisor for numerous Master and Phd-students in the group and externally. Previously supervised 9 PhD students, currently supervising 5 PhD students. Reviewer for a long list of high-ranking international scientific journals.

Leadership                        Independent researcher since 2001. PI on international strategic research project supported by Danish Council for Strategic Research (2101-08-0020). Founding member of World Immunotherapy Council, founding member of European Academy for Tumor Immunology (EATI), founding member of The Scandinavian Network for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SNIC), Steering committee member for PIVAC (progress in vaccination against cancer), organizer of international conference on “Progress in Vaccination against Cancer” 11 (PIVAC11) held in Copenhagen 2011, Editorial Board Member for Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy (CII), and Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer, organizer of the Danish Cancer Society Symposia 2013; Member of FP7 projects “Immumec” coordinated by Prof. Jürgen C. Becker, Austria, and “GAPVAC”, coordinated by Immatics, Germany, and member of 2020 EU network; IMMUTRAIN, coordinated by Prof. Sebastian Kobold, Münick, Germany, Member of CIMT advisory board.

Publications:                      Author/co-author of more than 170 articles and patents in the area of tumor immunology and immunotherapy.