The Technical University of Denmark, DTU coordinates the WP5 within REACT. Through the participation of Dr. Sine Reker, director of the laboratory “T cells and Cancer”. The T cells and Cancer is devoted to characterize T cell recognition in the context of diseases – as such we the group has contributed significantly to the development of multiplex strategies for T cell detection to comprehensively evaluate T cell reactivity in both cancer and autoimmune diseases.

Novel technologies developed in the group have changed the paradigm for T cell detection by introducing a molecular tagging system (DNA barcoding) – this allows simultaneous detection of >1,000 different antigen responding T cells.  The research team is currently using this technology to unravel the immune reactivity towards cancer associate neo- and shared epitopes, as well as understanding the influence of cancer therapy on the immune recognition. Throughout these studies, the research team has already been able to dissect the epitope specific recognition of clinical relevant T cells, and provide novel insight on how tumors can precisely be targeted through immunotherapy.

The team has also built novel technology platforms that allow in-depth understanding of T cell recognition from a structural perspective, which can be used to evaluate clinical efficacy and safety profiles of T cell receptors for clinical use.