Immunotherapy
++49-711-8101 2633
- Project 1: Identification and characterization of tumor-associated antigens
- Project 2: Influence of cancer treatment on the immunopeptidome of hematological malignancies
- Project 3: Translation of experimental work in clinical peptide vaccination studies for patients with hematological malignancies
- Project 4: T-cell immunity in COVID-19
- >>more on seperate subpage "Major Projects"
- Nelde A, Bilich T, Heitmann JS, Maringer Y, Salih HR, Roerden M, Lübke M, Bauer J, Rieth J, Wacker M, Peter A, Hörber S, Traenkle B, Kaiser PD, Rothbauer U, Becker M, Junker D, Krause G, Strengert S, Schneiderhan-Marra N, Templin MF, Joos TO, Kowalewski DJ, Stos-Zweifel V, Fehr M, Rabsteyn A, Mirakaj V, Karbach J, Jäger E, Graf M, Gruber LC, Rachfalski D, Preuß B, Hagelstein I, Märklin M, Bakchoul T, Gouttefangeas C, Kohlbacher O, Klein R, Stevanović S, Rammensee HG, Walz JS (2020). SARS-CoV-2-derived peptides define heterologous and COVID-19-induced T-cell recognition. Nature Immunology 2020 [in press].
- Heinrich B, Brown ZJ, Diggs LP, Vormehr M, Ma C, Subramanyam V, Rosato U, Ruf, B, Walz JS, McVey JC, Wabitsch SF, Fu Q, Yu SJ, Zhang Q, Lai, CW, Sahin U, Greten TF (2020). Steatohepatitis impairs T cell-directed immunotherapies against liver tumors in mice. Gastroenterology 2020 [in press].
- Bilich T*, Nelde A*, Bichmann L, Roerden M, Salih HR, Kowalewski DJ, Schuster H, Tsou CC, Marcu A, Neidert MC, Lübke M, Rieth J, Schemionek M, Brümmendorf TH, Vucinic V, Niederwieser D, Bauer J, Märklin M, Peper JK, Klein R, Kohlbacher O, Kanz L, Rammensee HG, Stevanović S, Walz JS (2018). The HLA ligandome landscape of chronic myeloid leukemia delineates novel T-cell epitopes for immunotherapy. Blood. 2019 Feb 7;133(6):550-565.
- Neidert MC, Kowalewski DJ, Silginer M, Kapolou K, Backert L, Peper JK Marcu A, Freudenmann LK, Wang S, Walz JS, Wolpert F, Rammensee HG, Henschler R, Lamszus K, Westphal M, Roth P, Regli L, Stevanovic S, Weller M, Eisele, G (2018). The natural HLA ligandome of glioblastoma stem-like cells: Antigen discovery for T cell based immunotherapy. Acta Neuropathol. 2018 Jun;135(6):923-938
- Liu X, Pichulik T, Wolz OO, Dang TM, Stutz A, Page C, Garcia MD, Kraus H, Dickhöfer S, Daiber E, Münzenmayer L, Wahl S, Rieber N, Kümmerle-Deschner J, Yazdi A, Franz-Wachtel M, Macek B, Radsak M, Vogel S, Schulte B, Walz JS, Hartl D, Latz E, Stilgenbauer S, Grimbacher B, Miller L, Brunner C, Wolz C, Weber AN (2017). Human NLRP3 inflammasome activity is regulated by and potentially targetable via BTK. Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 2017 Oct;140(4):1054-1067.e10.
Curriculum Vitae Juliane S. Walz, PhD
Dr. Margarete Fischer-Bosch Institute of Clinical Pharmacology
Auerbachstrasse 112
70376 Stuttgart Germany
phone: ++49-711-8101 2633
fax: ++49-711-859295
email: Juliane.walz@ikp-stuttgart.de
Academic education | |
2004 - 2010 | Medical school, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen September 2006: first part of medical examination (grade very good, 1,5) November 2010: second part of medical examination (grade very good, 1,5) |
2007-2011 | MD work at the Department of Immunology, University Tübingen „Qualitative und quantitative Analyse und Vergleich von Tumorantigenen und HLA-Klasse I-Liganden in Primärtumoren und Metastasen des Nierenzellkarzinoms“. Member of the graduate school SFB 794 „Zellbiologische Mechanismen immunassoziierter Prozesse“. |
04/2011 | Medical dissertation, summa cum laude |
05/2018 | Habilitation (internal medicine) at the Medical Faculty, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen |
Professional career | |
2011-2017 | Residency at the University Hospital Tübingen, Medical Department II |
Since 01/2012 | Research group leader Department of Immunology, University Tübingen „Peptide-based immunotherapy“ |
05/2017 | Specialist for internal medicine and hematology and oncology at the University Hospital Tübingen, Medical Department II |
04-08/2019 | Research scholarship, National Institute of Health (NIH), lab of Prof. Tim Greten, Bethesda, USA |
09/2019-8/2020 | Senior physician CCU Translational Immunology/Department of Hematology and Oncology |
Since 7/2020 | Head of the “Wirkstoffpeptidlabor”, Department of Immunology, University of Tübingen |
Since 09/2020 | Head of AG Immunotherapy Robert Bosch Cancer Centre, Stuttgart and Senior physician CCU Translational Immunology, University Hospital Tübingen |
2011 | Dissertation award of the Eberhard Karls University Tübingen |
2011 | „Ludolf Krehl Award“ of the Süddeutschen Gesellschaft für Innere Medizin |
2012 | Abstract Achievement Award American Society of Hematology |
2013 | Abstract Achievement Award American Society of Hematology |
2014 | Abstract Achievement Award American Society of Hematology |
2015 | „Poster Award“ DGHO Basel |
2015 | „Württembergischer Krebspreis“, junior award |
2016 | Young Investigator Award DGHO Leipzig |
2017 | „Poster Award“ of the University Tübingen, research colloquium |
2018 | „Poster Award“ DGHO Wien |
2020 | „Poster Award“ of the University Tübingen, research colloquium |
- Novel immunotherapy against several tumors of the blood, such as acute myeloid leukemia (AML); Application number: PCT/EP2015/060168
- Novel immunotherapy against several tumors of the blood, in particular chronic lymphoid leukemia (CLL); Application number: PCT/EP2015/063566
- Novel cell epitopes and combination of cell epitopes for use in the immunotherapy of myeloma and other cancers; Application number: PCT/EP2016/064317
- Peptides and combination of peptides for use in immunotherapy against leukemias and other cancers: Application number: PCT/EP2018/059114
- Peptides and combination thereof for use in the immunotherapy against cancers; Application number: PCT/EP2018/059109
- CoVac-1 peptide cocktail; Application number: PCT/EP 20 190 070.1
- SARS-CoV-2 CD8+ und CD4+ T cell epitopes; Application number: PCT/EP 20 169 047.6
Identification and characterization of tumor-associated antigens
The goal of all projects within our junior research group is to develop clinically effective, low toxicity, peptide-based immunotherapy approaches for the treatment of malignant tumors. The first critical issue is the selection of optimal antigen targets, which should show natural, high frequent and tumor-exclusive presentation on the cell surface of malignant cells and are recognized by patients T cells. Several studies have suggested neoepitopes arising from tumor-specific mutations as central specificities of checkpoint inhibitor induced T-cell responses in solid tumors. However, besides these neoantigens, several groups also described tumor-associated self-peptides that are able to induce peptide-specific T-cell responses and could be used as targets for peptide-based immunotherapy approaches. To identify tumor-associated self- and neoantigens we are using a direct method of HLA-presented peptide isolation and mass spectrometric analysis followed by various T-cell assays to prove the immunogenicity of our newly defined antigen targets. Current project are focusing on the identification of tumor-associated antigens for chronic myeloid leukemia, CD34+CD38- AML progenitor/tumor stem cells and premalignant and early stages of HM including monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), smouldering myeloma (SMM), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), Polycythemia vera and myelofibrosis
Influence of cancer treatment on the immunopeptidome of hematological malignancies
Translation of experimental work in clinical peptide vaccination studies for patients with hematological malignancies
* Phase I peptide vaccination study with a new synthetic lipopeptide adjuvant in
relapsed CLL patients
* Phase II peptide vaccination study for AML patients after allogeneic stem cell
Transplantation
* Phase II multi center randomized peptide vaccination study for CML patients
after stopping TKI Treatment
T-cell immunity in COVID-19
Furthermore, we are currently translating the preclinical results of these project in a phase I peptide vaccination trial aiming to induce protective SARS-CoV-2 T-cell immunity to combat COVID-19 (NCT04546841)