Leonie Taams

Leonie Taams is a Professor of Immune Regulation & Inflammation and Head of the School of Immunology & Microbial Sciences at King’s College London within the Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine. Her research focuses on cellular and molecular mechanisms of immune-mediated inflammation, particularly in rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and neuroimmune interactions. She leads the Wellcome Trust-funded Neuro-Immune Interactions PhD program and directs the FOCIS Centre of Excellence.

Education: PhD in Immunology from Utrecht University (1999), MSc and BSc from Utrecht University (1994 and 1991). Professional roles include Editor-in-Chief of Clinical and Experimental Immunology (2017–2024) and leadership in national/international scientific organizations.

Research interests span regulatory T cells, IL-17 pathways, monocyte/macrophage function, and translational studies linking immune dysregulation to chronic inflammation. Over 45 students and trainees have been mentored, with ongoing projects in pain mechanisms, biomarkers, and precision medicine for arthritis.

Key publications include work on Treg-monocyte interactions, cytokine pathways in arthritis, and neuroimmune cross-talk. Awards include the King’s Supervisory Excellence Award (2011–2012). Active grants include studies on CD8+ T-cells in psoriatic arthritis and fibroblast-driven pain mechanisms in rheumatoid arthritis.