Nicole Glodde

Nicole received her PhD (Dr.rer.nat.) in 2015 from the Institute of Experimental Dermatology at the University Hospital Bonn, Germany. During her PhD and as a post-doctoral fellow at the Institute of Experimental Oncology (IEO) in Bonn, she focused on the development of combinatorial therapeutic strategies in experimental tumor mouse models, especially melanoma, and the identification of resistance mechanisms to immunotherapies. Here, she deciphered how phenotypic plasticity of tumor and immune cells, genetic selection, and recruitment of immunosuppressive immune cell subtypes promote resistance to cancer immunotherapies. In 2020, she was awarded a highly competitive Junior Research Grant from the Mildreed Scheel School of Oncology (German Cancer Aid) and established her independent research group at the IEO. Her group is committed to understanding principles of resistance to cancer immunotherapies, developing human-relevant tumor mouse models of melanoma and ovarian cancer and studying the complex and dynamic interplay of tumor and immune cells in the tumor microenvironment to develop innovative and effective immunotherapies improving cancer outcome. In order to address this, the Glodde lab is employing cutting-edge CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing techniques in combination with high dimensional imaging approaches (multiparameter flow cytometry, multiplex immunofluorescence and intravital imaging) and mathematical modelling. An established network with clinicians has allowed to develop a pipeline for patient-derived ovarian cancer and melanoma organoids to validate preclinical findings by comprehensive analyses of patient material to facilitate clinical translation.