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Biography

Karine Breckpot (°1976, ) obtained her MSc in Biomedical Sciences (1998) and PhD in Medical Sciences (2004) at the ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ Medical Centre (UMC) of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Belgium. Following a postdoc at the Division of Infection and Immunity at ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ College London (UK), she was appointed Group Leader and Assistant Professor at the Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Therapy (LMCT, UMC-VUB) in 2010. She was promoted to Tenured Professor in 2014 and Full Professor as well as Director of the LMCT in 2019. In 2023, the LMCT became part of the Translational Oncology Research Centre (TORC) at the UMC-VUB. As part of her academic role, she contributes to multiple courses in Biomedical Sciences and serves as vice-chair of the Ethical Committee for Laboratory Animal Use and as a member of the Committee for Biomedical Sciences, the Faculty Board, and the ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ Board.

In 2024, she was elected Director of Research at the UMC-VUB for a two-year term. Throughout her research career, she focused on cancer immunology and immunotherapy, developing novel therapeutic strategies using mRNA, lentiviral vectors, and antibodies, including camelid single-domain antibodies. She is (co-)supervisor of 23 defended and 7 ongoing doctoral theses, co-author of >160 peer-reviewed Q1 publications, and co-inventor on 7 granted patents and 3 recently submitted patent applications. Her recognition as expert in the field of immunotherapy is further evidenced through several national and international awards, including the Melanoma Research Alliance Young Investigator Award (2017) as well as invited lectures and her presence in several grant review committees.