PhD thesis defense Thomas Kimman

Jan 7, 2026: Successful PhD thesis defense of Thomas Kimman, entitled; Empowering CAR T cell therapy - Translating resistance mechanisms into opportunities

New publication in iScience

We’re excited to share our latest publication in iScience!

Our study shows that the 3D culture matrix strongly influences T cell and CAR-T cell function. We found that a synthetic nanofibrillar cellulose (NFC) hydrogel maintained T cell activity, whereas Matrigel and BME reduced their function — underscoring the importance of choosing the right matrix for reliable preclinical testing.

📖 Read the open-access article: Via iScience | Via PubMed

New publication in Nature Communications

We are thrilled to announce that our latest research has been published in Nature Communications:

Engineering anti-BCMA CAR T cells for enhancing myeloma killing efficacy via apoptosis regulation

📄 Read the full article

This study addresses a significant challenge in CAR T-cell therapy for multiple myeloma: the resistance of cancer cells to apoptosis, which can limit the effectiveness of treatment. Our team developed anti-BCMA CAR T cells that overexpress a granzyme B-NOXA fusion protein. This modification enhances the induction of apoptosis in myeloma cells by delivering NOXA directly into the target cells, thereby improving the cytotoxic efficacy of the CAR T cells both in vitro and in vivo.

This innovative approach offers a promising strategy to overcome apoptosis resistance in multiple myeloma, potentially leading to more effective CAR T-cell therapies.

We extend our gratitude to all collaborators and contributors who made this research possible.

For more information and to access the full publication, please visit the article link above.