Rate My Professor Kim De Keersmaecker

De Keersmaecker’s research centers on disease mechanisms in cancer, with a specialization in somatic ribosome defects, translational dysregulation, serine and glycine metabolism, and non-coding mutations, particularly in T-cell malignancies. She has secured major awards and fellowships, including the ERC Starting Grant in 2014 for studying ribosome defects in cancer, the ERC Consolidator Grant in 2019 for silent mutations in cancer, the Astra Zeneca Foundation Award in 2022, the Simonart Foundation Prize in 2020 for repurposing sertraline to target serine/glycine synthesis-addicted cancer, and the Dokter Roland De Ruyck Prize in 2019. Notable publications include 'Exome sequencing identifies mutations in CNOT3 and ribosomal genes RPL5 and RPL10 in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia' (Nature Genetics, 2013), 'The TLX1 oncogene drives aneuploidy in T cell transformation' (Nature Medicine, 2010), 'Translatome analysis reveals altered serine and glycine metabolism in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells' (Nature Communications, 2019), and 'Hallmarks of ribosomopathies' (Nucleic Acids Research, 2020). Her contributions have illuminated ribosomal mutations as oncogenic drivers and potential therapeutic targets, influencing cancer biology. She serves as Board member of the KU Leuven Faculty of Medicine since 2021, Board member of the Department of Oncology since 2016, and Coordinator of the KU Leuven Doctoral School Cancer programme since 2013.