“Cancer is one the main causes of death in the US. Our research is focused on understanding how we can harness the power of our immune system to attack and kill cancer cells and cure patients. I chose to join Sanford Burnham Prebys because of their collaborative research culture and state-of-the- art core facilities. I believe that teamwork is the foundation of scientific breakthroughs, and the Institute provides a perfect supportive and friendly environment to achieve this.”
Originally from the Netherlands, Kelly received her BS and MS from Utrecht University, and performed her PhD studies at the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam working with Prof. Karin de Visser studying the role of the immune system in the metastatic spread of breast cancer. For her postdoctoral training, Kelly joined the lab of Prof. Max Krummel at the University of California San Francisco to study how tumor-associated myeloid cells affect anti-tumor T cell responses. Kelly is currently setting up her independent research team at Sanford Burnham Prebys.
Education
2016-2023: Postdoctoral Training, University of California San Francisco (Mentor: Prof. Max Krummel, focus on immune evasive cancer)
2017: PhD, Netherlands Cancer Institute Amsterdam/ Leiden University (Mentor: Prof. Karin de Visser, focus on role immune system in breast cancer metastasis, 2011-2016)
2011: MS, Biomedical Sciences, Utrecht University, Netherlands
2008: BS, Biology, Utrecht University, Netherlands
Honors and Recognition
2022: Selected Attendee for SITC Women in Cancer Immunotherapy Network (WIN) Leadership Institute
2022: Selected Attendee for Arthur and Sandra Irving Cancer Immunology Symposium
2022: Ray Owen Poster Award for Outstanding Poster Presentation at 60th Midwinter Conference for Immunologists at Asilomar (sponsored by AAI)
2020-2022: Parker Scholar Award awarded by the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI)
2018: Honorable Mention of poster presentation at UCSF/UCB/UCM Immunology Retreat
2018: Poster presentation ‘Excellence in Research Award’ awarded by the National Philanthropic Trust
2017-2019: NWO Rubicon postdoctoral fellowship awarded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO)
2015: Best presentation award at the annual Tumor Cell Biology meeting of the Dutch Cancer Society (KWF)
2014: Travel scholarship awarded by the Dutch Foundation for Pharmacological Sciences (NSFW)
2010: Master scholarship awarded by the Dutch Cancer Society (KWF)
Memberships
2022-present: Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC)
2020-present: Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI)
2012-present: American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)