Pierre van der Bruggen
Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium
Biography
Pierre van der Bruggen has a Ph.D. in Agronomical Sciences. In 1988, he joined the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and identified in 1991 the first human gene, MAGE-1, coding for a tumor antigen recognized by cytolytic T lymphocytes. He identified over the years several other tumor antigens, which have been used in clinical trials. His group has discovered a new type of anergy of human tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, due to the presence of galectin-3, a lectin abundant in tumors. The group is further analyzing the mechanisms by which galectin antagonists reverse the impaired T cell functions.