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Cees van Kooten

Cees van Kooten (1963) is professor in Experimental Nephrology and Transplant Immunology since 2009. He is heading the Immunological Research Laboratory of the section Nephrology of the department of Internal Medicine.
Cees van Kooten studied biology at the University of Amsterdam with specializations in immunology and molecular biology and graduated in 1987. At the end of his studies he did in the framework of an exchange program several months of research on the role of IL6 in urinary tract infections at the Department of Clinical Immunology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Afterwards, he started on his doctoral research in Amsterdam in the Department Autoimmune diseases of the CLB (the “blood bank”). In 1992 he successfully defended his dissertation, entitled “The role of cytokines in the activation of human malignant B cells”. Subsequently, he spent two years as a postdoctoral work at the renowned immunological research Institute from Schering Plough in Lyon, France, headed by Dr Jacques Banchereau. Here he studied the molecular interactions between T-and B-cells.
In 1995, he moved to the Department of Nephrology of the LUMC in Leiden to study the role of growth factors and cytokines in tubulointerstitial fibrosis. This was followed by a fellowship from the Royal Dutch Academy of Science (KNAW) fellowship at the LUMC to investigate the role of CD40-CD40L in the rejection of transplanted kidneys. In 2003 he became associate professor and in 2009 he was appointed as professor in Experimental Nephrology and Transplant Immunology at the Leiden University Medical Center. Cees van Kooten is (co) author of over 250 scientific articles. He has garnered substantial research grants, and has been active in reviewing both for scientific journals as well as for grant organizations. Since 1996, he has served in over 100 doctoral committees, several in an international context and for more than 25 he was active as (co)-supervisor. Over these years he has been active in the teaching program of the LUMC in Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, ranging from bachelor and master student to post-doctoral courses and an active participation in the online MOOC ‘Clinical kidney transplantation’.

More personal information via Researchgate and LinkedIn.

The overall research aims are to investigate and monitor immunological processes responsible for rejection in renal allografts and to develop immunosuppressive protocols that result in favorable graft function and fewer complications. Moreover, we investigate the immunological processes implicated in various forms of glomerulonephritis including humoral (auto)-immunity and the complement system. These goals are implemented by epidemiological, clinical, histochemical, biochemical and experimental approaches. Over the years a strong international network has been established at this crossroad of nephrology, transplantation and immunology.
This research program of fundamental immunology and nephrology is highly integrated with the clinical program of the department and is predominantly focused around the following themes.