Ton Schumacher

Ton Schumacher is a Professor of Immunotechnology at Leiden University Medical Center and a Senior Member of The Netherlands Cancer Institute. He has held these positions since 2005 and 2002, respectively, and also serves as the Chief Scientific Officer at Kite Pharma EU (0.2 FTE).

Education:

• M.Sc. in Medical Biology from the University of Amsterdam (1988, honors)
• Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Free University of Amsterdam (1992, honors)

Research Interests: Schumacher specializes in cancer immunotherapy, focusing on T cell-based immune responses, antigen presentation, and single-cell tracing technologies. His work includes developing methods to measure tumor antigen fragments binding to MHC molecules, pioneering T cell receptor gene therapy, and advancing cellular barcoding to study immune cell behavior in vivo.

Scientific Awards:

• ERC Advanced Grant (2017, 2011)
• W.B. Coley Award (2016)
• Peter Speiser Award (2016)
• van Loghem Award (2016)
• Meyenburg Cancer Research Award (2015)
• San Salvatore Award (2014)
• Queen Wilhelmina Cancer Research Award (2014)
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute Fellowship (1994)

Advising and Grants: Schumacher has been recognized with multiple grants, including two ERC Advanced Grants (2011, 2017), and has contributed to foundational advancements in T cell immunology and cancer therapy technologies.

Labs and Teams: He has been affiliated with The Netherlands Cancer Institute since 1996, where he has held roles ranging from Assistant Member to Full Member in the Department of Immunology. Additionally, he collaborates with Kite Pharma EU in an industry capacity.