Neefjes is professor in Chemical Immunology and chair of the department of Cell and Chemical Biology (CCB) at the LUMC in Leiden. His is also chair of the LUMC Research Counsel and a member of the LUMC Research Board. In addition, he is member of the Board of KNAW and of FEAM. Neefjes is an elected member of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters, EMBO, Academia Europaea and KNHW. For his work, Neefjes received various awards including the KNCV Golden Medal, the Nefkens award and the Spinoza Advanced award (twice).

More information about Sjaak Neefjes

Neefjes is professor in Chemical Immunology and chair of the department of Cell and Chemical Biology (CCB) at the LUMC in Leiden. His is also chair of the LUMC Research Counsel and a member of the LUMC Research Board. In addition, he is member of the Board of KNAW and of FEAM.

Neefjes is an elected member of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters, EMBO, Academia Europaea and KNHW.

For his work, Neefjes received various awards including the KNCV Golden Medal, the Nefkens award and the Spinoza Advanced award (twice).

Cell and Chemical Biology

Neefjes applies chemical tools and inhibitors to study biological processes. These are related to the mechanism of antigen presentation by MHC molecules and how these move through cells, the way bacteria contribute to cancer formation and the way an important class of cancer drugs work. Neefjes detoxified these drugs and is currently busy preparing these for clinical studies.

Academic career

Sjaak Neefjes absolved the study Chemistry at the Free University Amsterdam. He absolved his doctoral research at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) in Amsterdam. The title of his doctoral thesis (November 1990, cum laude) reads ‘Cell Biological Aspect of MHC class I and II molecules’. His career later on was as follows.

Post Graduate Education and Training

1991 Post-doctoral research with prof. dr. H.L. Ploegh, Division of Cellular Biochemistry, the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam

1991-1992 Visiting scientist at the laboratory of drs. C. Benoit and D. Mathis at the Institut de Chimie Biologique, Strassbourg

1992-1993 EMBO long-term fellowship, laboratory of prof. dr. G Hämmerling at the Deutsche Krebs Forschungs Zentrum (DKFZ), Heidelberg

Academic Appointments  

1993 – 1997 Staff member, Division of Cellular Biochemistry, the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam

1998 – 2008 Head Division of Tumor Biology, the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam

1999 – 2014 Extraordinary professor at Leiden University, chair of 'Antigen Presentation and Processing'

2000 – 2003 Dean Graduate School Oncology Amsterdam (OOA)

2007 – 2011 Deputy Scientific Director, the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam

2009 – 2016 Head Division of Cell Biology II, the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam

2009 – 2011 Visiting professor at the Centre for Immune Regulation of the University of Oslo, Norway

2009 – present Ombudsman for Sanquin Amsterdam

2014 – 2016 Extraordinary professor at Leiden University, chair 'Chemical Immunology'

2016 – 2017 Head Division of Chemical Immunology, LUMC, Leiden NL

2018 – present Head Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, LUMC, NL

Prizes and honourable appointments

Neefjes studied chemistry at the VU and moved to the NKI to the new lab of Hidde Ploegh for his PhD research on the question how MHC molecules work. His PhD thesis is named Çell Biological aspects of MHC class I and II molecules (VU Amsterdam, cum laude).

After a post-doc at the DKFZ in Heidelberg, he started as a group leader at the NKI in Amsterdam where he has be acting chair of various departments and acting vice-director. He moved with the group of Huib Ovaa in 2016 to the LUMC where Neefjes is currently acting Chair of the Department CCB. Neefjes accepting speech was  named ‘Over leven en overleven’ (About life and survival).

Publications