Peperzak Lab
B cell malignancies
University Medical Center Utrecht
Utrecht, the Netherlands
About us
Our research aim is to control cellular life and death decisions to improve treatment of B cell cancers and allow T cell immunotherapy for untreatable cancers.
The background of our research concerns cell death regulation in T and B lymphocytes. With previous interests and expertise, we developed two main research lines;
1) Targeting malignant B cells to improve patient treatment.
2) Designing an enhanced killing machinery for engineered T or NK cells.
We work in close collaboration between the center for translational immunology (CTI) and hematology department at the UMC Utrecht and combine fundamental research questions with (pre)clinical implementation. Our main focus relates to improving treatment of the incurable plasma cell malignancy multiple myeloma (MM), but we also focus on other B cell malignancies including classical Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and amyloid light-chain (AL) amyloidosis. Next to combination therapy with small molecule inhibitors we employ different strategies to enhance effectivity of cellular immunotherapy. As a means to achieve this we use biochemical & cell engineering approaches, animal models and 3D culture with primary material.
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B cell malignancies team
Curiosity drives us, Persistency defines us
Victor Peperzak, PhD
Associate Professor, Group leader
Victor obtained his PhD in 2010 at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) in Amsterdam examining the mechanisms of T cell co-stimulation.
He subsequently moved to the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) in Melbourne, Australia, as a postdoctoral fellow to study pro-survival BCL-2 family proteins in healthy B and plasma cells.
This research line was continued at the Academic Medical Center (AMC) in Amsterdam focusing on malignant B cells.
Since 2016 he leads the B-Cell malignancies team at the UMCU.
Marta Cuenca, PhD
Assistant professor, Junior PI
Marta is originally from Spain, where she graduated in Pharmacy and obtained her PhD in Immunology (University of Barcelona).
During her PhD, she studied the inhibitory receptor SLAMF3 as a potential target for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and B cell malignancies.
In 2017 she received a postdoctoral grant (Ramón Areces foundation) and joined the group of Victor Peperzak at the UMCU. Here, she developed diverse hydrogel-based culture systems for patient-specific drug sensitivity profiling in multiple myeloma, which can be applied to investigate optimal treatment sequencing strategies.
In 2022 she was awarded a Young Investigator Grant from the Dutch Cancer Foundation (KWF), and her current research focuses on improving CAR-T cell cytotoxicity against hematological cancers. Besides her research and teaching activities, Marta is an active member of the Early Career Research board at the UMCU.
Flores Weverling
MD/PhD student
Flores obtained his medical degree from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. Besides running and cycling, he developed a passion for onco-hematology during his internships. “Guiding patients through challenging periods of hospital visits and intensive treatments is valuable and interesting,”
To launch his scientific career, he began working at UMC Utrecht, where he set up a retrospective myelofibrosis cohort. Currently, he is studying AL amyloidosis as a PhD student.
His project focuses mainly on the epidemiological aspects of AL amyloidosis in collaboration with the Netherlands Cancer Registry.
Additionally, he is pursuing a master’s degree in epidemiology at Utrecht University. In the lab, he aims to predict which patients may benefit from venetoclax-based therapy.
Corine Pleijte
MD/PhD student
Corine began her medical degree in 2015 at Utrecht University. During her studies, she developed a strong interest in translational research and undertook various internships, primarily in oncology.
After a year of clinical work in internal medicine, she is now a PhD student focused on developing a novel technique to enhance the killing ability of BCMA CAR T cells for treatment of multiple myeloma.
Ralph Geoffrey Tieland
Senior technician
With an affinity for biology Ralph obtained his BSc degree in 2011 at the Hogeschool Utrecht, specializing in zoology, and his Master degree at the University of Utrecht in 2014.
During his internships Ralph laid the groundwork for a broad base of different animal models and techniques which he expended as research technician in the group of Tim Radstake within the Centre for Translational Immunology (CTI) of the UMCU.
After disbanding of the research group, Ralph continued research within the CTI but made a switch to the field of oncology in 2020 in the group of Jeanette Leusen.
In 2022 Ralph joined the Peperzak group with his main focus on the project of first Thomas Kimman, and now Corine Pleijte, which entails the quest to enhance the killing ability of BCMA CAR T cells for treatment of multiple myeloma.
Benjamin Motais, PhD
Postdoctoral fellow
Benjamin, originally from France, began his academic journey with an Erasmus MSc internship at the Jagiellonian University of Krakow, where he developed a keen interest in gene engineering.
Following this, he pursued a PhD in the Blood Cancer Research Group at Ostrava, Czechia, where his research focused on developing allogenic natural killer-cell based immunotherapies for hematological malignancies.
After completing his PhD in 2023, Benjamin was hired as postdoctoral fellow within the Peperzak group and is currently working on optimizing CAR-T cell therapies based on the team's proprietary OK-tech patent.
Diana Petcu
PhD student
Originally from Romania, I moved to the Netherlands in 2017 to obtain a Biomedical BSc in Maastricht and an Infection and Immunity MSc at Utrecht University, meaning that I have officially lived in the Netherlands now for around a quarter of my life.
My project focuses on identifying more specific treatment strategies for pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma. To do this, we aim to better understand the interactions between the very rare tumor cell population and the other immune cells in the microenvironment, with a special emphasis on CD4+ T cells.
Samir Aggarwal Sánchez
MSc student
Originally from Spain, Samir moved to the Netherlands in 2022 to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Molecular & Biophysical Life Sciences at Utrecht University. In 2025, he began a Master’s in Cancer, Stem Cells & Developmental Biology at the same university. As part of his Master internship, Samir joined Marta’s project to explore the vulnerabilities of Multiple Myeloma against BCMA CAR-T therapies. Outside of his studies, Samir enjoys traveling, playing the piano, and complaining about the Dutch weather.
Sylvia Backelandt
MSc student
Sylvia obtained her BSc in Biomedical Sciences at Utrecht University in 2025 and began a Master’s in Infection & Immunity at the same university. As part of her Master internship, she joined Eugenia’s project, focussing on the effect of the tumor extracellular matrix on immunotherapeutic approaches, using 3D culture models. Besides her studies, she enjoys running, baking, doing DIY, and working a part-time job at a farm cafe.
Toni Koukkula
Technician
Originally from Finland, Toni earned his BSc in Biomedical Laboratory Science from Oulu University of Applied Sciences in 2022. During and after his studies, he worked in various diagnostic laboratories at Oulu University Hospital.
Soon after graduating, Toni sold everything but his books and moved to the Netherlands to join a Developmental Biology research group at Utrecht University. In 2024, he joined the Peperzak group, where he now contributes to Diana Petcu’s project focused on developing more targeted treatment strategies for pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma.
Eugenia Cambiaso
PhD student
After obtaining her BSc in Biology at the University of Genova in 2020, Eugenia moved to The Netherlands and graduated from her MSc in Cell Biology and Molecular Interactions at the Wageningen University & Research in 2023. During her internships and studies, she developed a strong interest in the field of OncoImmunology.
She joined the Peperzak group in 2024 where she is currently pursuing a PhD centered on the design of 3D culture models with primary cells to test novel immunotherapeutic approaches.
Thomas Kimman
PhD student & Product development
Thomas..
Nationalities of research team
Netherlands
Spain
France
Italia
Finland
Romania
Alumni
Maiken Verstappen (2024 - 2025) - MSc internship
Valke Hoekstra (2024 - 2025) - MSc internship
Felicia Amelie (2023 - 2024) - MSc internship
Lieke Gol (2022 - 2023) - MSc internship
Manuel Beltran (2022) - visiting PhD student
Wendy Boschloo (2021 - 2022) - MSc internship
Dedeke Rockx-Brouwer (2021 - 2025) - Senior Technician
Patrick Greve (2020 - 2023) - MD/PhD student
Leonie Abbink (2019 - 2020) - MSc internship
Niels van Nieuwenhuijzen (2019 - 2023) - MD/PhD student
Sarah Grabherr (2018 - 2019) - MSc internship
Thomas Kimman (2018 - 2023) - PhD student
Laura Timmerman (2018 - 2019) - Technician
Luke Faber (2017 - 2018) - MSc internship
Douwe Bosma (2017 - 2018) - MSc internship
Ingrid Spaan (2016 - 2021) - PhD student
Sanne Kroos (2016 - 2017) - MSc internship
Laura Moesbergen (2016 - 2021) - Sr Technician
Anne Slomp (2016 - 2020) - PhD student
Selected publications
Revilla SA, Cutilli A, Cambiaso E, Rockx-Brouwer D, Frederiks CL, Falandt M, Levato R, Kranenburg O, Lindemans CA, Coffer PJ, Peperzak V, Mocholi E, Cuenca M.
iScience. 2025 Jul 30;28(9):113234. PMID: 40837221
van Nieuwenhuijzen N, Cuenca M, Abbink L, Jak M, Peperzak V, Minnema MC.
EJHaem. 2023 Nov 29;5(1):141-146. PMID: 38406516
Serpin B9 controls tumor cell killing by CAR T cells.
Kimman T, Slomp A, Martens A, Grabherr S, Li S, van Diest E, Meeldijk J, Kuball J, Minnema MC, Eldering E, Bovenschen N, Sebestyén Z, Peperzak V.
J Immunother Cancer. 2023 Mar;11(3):e006364. PMID: 36931661
Cuenca M, Van Nieuwenhuijzen N, Moesbergen LM, Bloem A, Minnema MC, Peperzak V.
Haematologica. 2022 Apr 1;107(4):980-983. PMID: 34879645
Spaan I, Timmerman LM, Kimman T, Slomp A, Cuenca M, van Nieuwenhuijzen N, Moesbergen LM, Minnema MC, Raymakers RA, Peperzak V.
Blood Adv. 2021 Jun 22;5(12):2593-2607. PMID: 34152396
Phosphatase PP2A enhances MCL-1 protein half-life in multiple myeloma cells.
Slomp A, Moesbergen LM, Eldering E, Kersten MJ, Minnema MC, Peperzak V.
Cell Death Dis. 2021 Mar 3;12(3):229. PMID: 33658484
Multiple myeloma with 1q21 amplification is highly sensitive to MCL-1 targeting.
Slomp A, Moesbergen LM, Gong JN, Cuenca M, von dem Borne PA, Sonneveld P, Huang DCS, Minnema MC, Peperzak V.
Blood Adv. 2019 Dec 23;3(24):4202-4214. PMID: 31856269