My research focuses on the large-scale analysis of proteins, the primary executers of cellular activities, that function in extensively cross-linked and feedback-regulated signal transduction modules that are deranged in cancer. My lab’s mission is to apply innovative mass spectrometry-based (phospho)proteomics and data analysis to improve (early) diagnostics and treatment of disease, most notably cancer. The multi-disciplinary team of the OncoProteomics Laboratory (OPL) includes core members with expertise in mass spectrometry, biology, biochemistry, and bioinformatics, and post-docs and PhD students with life science and clinical backgrounds. The OPL has acquired a strong reputation as cancer proteomics center (see www.oncoproteomics.nl). Robust label-free quantitation strategies and dedicated statistics have been developed for analysis of protein profiling data.

Our oncoproteomics research can be divided into 3 broad research lines;

1. Analysis of tumor microenvironment, via secretome, exosome and proximal fluid proteomics to develop non-invasive biomarker applications
2. Analysis of cancer signalling pathways via intracellular (phospho)proteomics to enable target discovery, patient stratification and response prediction.
3. Methodological research to enable our mission.

These research lines have been successfully applied in multiple collaborative projects in various tumor types, including colorectal cancer, breast cancer, AML, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer. The obtained (phospho)proteome data provide a rich source of disease biology information and have revealed novel candidate biomarkers and drug targets that are in different phases of validation.