Biography
Marcel van den Brink is a medical oncologist with experience in both laboratory and clinical research, particularly in strategies to improve allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT). He is the Head of the Division of Hematologic Malignancies at MSKCC and holds a joint appointment in the Immunology and Transplantation Program. As a clinical scientist he has been involved in immunotherapeutic trials of cytokines, cell therapies, tumor vaccines and BMT for patients with hematologic malignancies. His laboratory is devoted to the immunology of BMT and he studies post-transplant immune reconstitution, pathophysiology of graft-versus-host disease, the intestinal microbiota in BMT recipients, and the biology of graft-versus-tumor in patients and mouse models. Both as a Division Head and a laboratory Principal.
Talk
Impact Of Microbiota On Allogeneic HCT
Patients undergoing HCT display dramatic changes in composition of their intestinal flora during Allogeneic HCT. These changes can lead to or have significant impact on clinically relevant outcomes including relapse, GVHD, infections, and organ toxicity. Manipulation of intestinal flora offers a novel approach to improve overall outcomes after Allo HCT.
A growing body of evidence suggests that the broader community of gut microbes may influence cancer risk, provide diagnostic insight, shape clinical course, and impact treatment success. Microbiome-directed therapies hold tremendous promise for personalized therapies and improved treatment outcomes.