Jolanda de Vries

Jolanda de Vries is a Full Professor in Immunology and Head of the Department of Tumor Immunology at the Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre in the Netherlands. She serves as President of the Dutch Society for Immunology (NVVI) and is an elected board member of the European Society of Molecular Imaging (ESMI).

Professor de Vries is an internationally renowned expert in cellular immunology with a particular focus on dendritic cells, cancer immunotherapy, and imaging immune responses. Her research spans fundamental immunology to clinical applications, with a consistent aim to translate immunological concepts into clinical practice. She is recognized both in cancer research (through her appointment to the Dutch Cancer Foundation research council) and immunology fields.

De Vries leads large interdisciplinary research teams across Europe. She serves as Principal Investigator in three EU Horizon 2020 programs and coordinates the DC4Balance consortium, which brings together 10 academic partners, 12 private partners, and five health foundations. Her vision for collaborative impact resulted in ImmuneHealthXL, a strategic consortium involving public and private partners working to understand immune-mediated diseases, infections, and cancer.

Her publications demonstrate a consistent focus on translating laboratory discoveries into clinical applications for cancer patients. The research spans dendritic cell biology, cancer immunotherapy, molecular imaging techniques for immune monitoring, and the development of novel therapeutic approaches. Her work shows particular strength in bridging fundamental immunology with clinical applications.

Her scientific honors include:

• Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion (2021)
• Huibregtsenprijs for scientifically innovative research benefiting society (2017)
• Radboud pennin award from Radboud UMC (2017)
• VICI award from Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (2014)
• VIDI award (2007)
• Aspasia award for female researchers (2007)

De Vries serves as a scientific advisor for several patient organizations including Inspire2Live and Patientenstem.nu, demonstrating her commitment to patient engagement. Her leadership extends to coordinating major research consortia that integrate academic institutions, private partners, and patient organizations to advance understanding of immune health and disease.