Research Groups
Monika Wolkers Group

T cell effector function, post-transcriptional gene regulation, RNA binding proteins

Sanquin
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Our Focus

My lab studies how T cell responses against tumours and infections are generated and maintained. We 1) study T cell responses against Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) and paediatric neuroblastoma, with the aim to bring TIL therapy to the clinic. T cell products are also generated for cancer patients from peripheral-blood T cells for the production of e.g. CAR or TCR-transgenic T cells. Therefore, we 2) investigate the heterogeneity and functionality of blood-derived human T cells, in particular how this heterogeneity translates into their capacity to kill target cells, and how most potent T cell products can be generated and maintained. Furthermore, it is critical to decipher the molecular mechanisms that drive T cell effector function. We therefore 3) investigate how post-transcriptional events define T cell function and how it can be modified, with a specific focus on the role of RNA-binding proteins herein. We recently set up analysis pipelines to define the role of sequence determinants in transcripts in the protein output from transcripts. Unravelling these regulatory mechanisms in protein expression are thus key to our understanding of T cell functionality. 

About Monika Wolkers

My Research

Monika Wolkers did her PhD research at the Netherlands Cancer Institute on antigen presentation in the group of Ton Schumacher. After her postdoctoral training on the molecular imprinting of T cell memory in the groups of Stephen Schoenberger, Douglas Green (La Jolla Institute, San Diego and St Jude’s Children’s Hospital, Memphis) and on the role of aptoptosis molecules in immune responses in Jan Paul Medema’s lab (Amsterdam UMC), she started her research group in 2010 at Sanquin. Her research focusses on T cell effector function in health and disease.

Key Publications
  • 2026 | Meta-unstable mRNAs in activated CD8+ T cells are defined by interlinked AU-rich elements and m6A mRNA methylation | Paulo A. Gameiro et al. | Research Square (preprint) | View publication
  • 2025 | Combined Deletion of ZFP36L1 and ZFP36L2 Drives Superior Cytokine Production in T Cells at the Cost of Cell Fitness | Nordin D. Zandhuis et al. | European Journal of Immunology | View publication
  • 2025 | Learning the sequence code of protein expression in human immune cells | Benoît P. Nicolet et al. | Science Advances | View publication
  • 2025 | mTOR signaling during T cell activation promotes cytokine production in T cells through 3' UTR-mediated translation control | Anouk P. Jurgens et al. | Molecular Cell | View publication
  • 2025 | Single-molecule imaging of transcription dynamics, RNA localization and fate in human T cells | M. Valeria Lattanzio et al. | The EMBO Journal | View publication
  • 2025 | What's in a name: the multifaceted function of DNA- and RNA-binding proteins in T cell responses | Kaspar Bresser et al. | The FEBS Journal | View publication
  • 2025 | γδ T cells are the prime antitumoral T cells in pediatric neuroblastoma | Suzanne M. Castenmiller et al. | Life Science Alliance | View publication
  • 2020 | CD29 identifies IFN-γ producing human CD8+ T cells with an increased cytotoxic potential | Benoît P. Nicolet et al. | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | View publication
  • 2019 | Polyfunctional tumor-reactive T cells are effectively expanded from non-small cell lung cancers, and correlate with an immune-engaged T cell profile | Rosa de Groot et al. | OncoImmunology | View publication
  • 2018 | Critical role of post-transcriptional regulation for IFN-γ in tumor-infiltrating T cells | Francesca Salerno et al. | OncoImmunology | View publication
  • 2018 | Translation repression through AU-rich elements prevents aberrant cytokine production in memory T cells | Francesca Salerno et al. | Nature Immunology | View publication
  • 2017 | Distinct PKC-mediated post-transcriptional events set cytokine production kinetics in CD8+ T cells | Francesca Salerno et al. | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | View publication

Members

Monika Wolkers
Group leader		Anouk Jurgens    
OIO		Antonia Bradarić    
Research Technician
Branka Popovic    
Post Doc		Kaspar Bresser    
PostDoc		Koos Rooijers    
Bioinformatician
Leyma Wardak    
PhD student		Maria Valeria Lattanzio    
Onderzoek in opleiding		Maxime Steinmetz    
PhD Student
Zan Hozjan    
PhD student		Nestor Martin    
Analyst		Nila H. Servaas    
PostDoc
Peter Gortemaker
Technician