Leendert H. J. Looijenga PhD

Leendert Looijenga, Principal Investigator, Professor of Translational Patho-Oncology, studied biology at the University of Groningen and graduated cum laude with a specialization in medical cell biology in 1989. Until 1990, he worked as a visiting scientist at the Department of Anthropogenetics (Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands), after which he started the Laboratory for Experimental Patho-Oncology at the Daniel den Hoed Cancer Center (Rotterdam). In 1994, he defended his thesis, "Pathobiology of germ cell tumors of the adult testis: views and news", at the Erasmus University Rotterdam (Promotors: Prof. dr. J.W. Oosterhuis and B. de Jong), and became initiating scientist and staff member.

In 1998, the laboratory moved to the Josephine Nefkens Institute (now Josephine Nefkens), Department of Pathology. In 2005 he became Professor of Translational Patho-Oncology at the Erasmus MC - University Medical Center Rotterdam. Looijenga is leading an active group of clinicians and scientists (also in training). He has been (co-)responsible for 13 Ph.D. students that finalized their education, and currently for 7 more. In addition, he lectures in the context of the Medical Training of students at the Erasmus MC, as well as the Master program. He had been invited for more than 200 keynote lectures, had over 40 funded research grants, and has more than 225 publications (39 first, 131 co- and 107 last authorship), as well as over 25 book chapters.