Christian U. Blank is professor for Internal Medicine, especially clinical research on cancer immunotherapy (LUMC) and staff member at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI). In addition, he is professor at the University of Regensburg/Germany, and is he founding and faculty member of the International Neoadjuvant Melanoma Consortium (INMC).

More information about Christian Blank

Christian U. Blank is professor for Internal Medicine, especially clinical research on cancer immunotherapy (LUMC) and staff member at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI). In addition, he is professor at the University of Regensburg/Germany, and is he founding and faculty member of the International Neoadjuvant Melanoma Consortium (INMC).

Cancer Immunotherapy

Cancer Immunotherapy is a novel therapeutic option with the aim to learn the body’s own immune system to attack and eliminate cancers. 

A subgroup of cancer immunotherapy is the modulation of checkpoints, negative of positive signaling molecules on immune cells. A major advantage of this therapy is the longevity of response, if it occurs.

Our group has pioneered neoadjuvant checkpoint inhibition in melanoma, achieving unparalleled high response rates in early-stage disease.

Our current research focus is on personalizing the intensity of therapy, extent of surgery and frequency of the follow-up.

Academic career

Christian Blank obtained his MD from the Medical School of the Technical University Munich, Germany, where he also completed his Doctoral thesis (summa cum laude) at the Department for Medical Microbiology and in 1997. He worked as Junior House Officer (1997–1998) at the University Clinic Munich, at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, and the University of Birmingham. He went on to attain the position of Physician at the Department of Hematology and Oncology, University of Regensburg, Germany (1998–2001). During 2001–2003, Dr Blank held a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the lab of Professor Thomas Gajewski, University of Chicago, IL, USA. Subsequently he was appointed as Physician and Research Group Leader at the Department of Hematology and Oncology, University of Regensburg, Germany (2003–2007). Dr Blank has obtained two Specialist Degrees in Internal Medicine (2007) and in Hematology/Oncology (2009). Since 2007, he has been appointed Staff Member at the Department of Medical Oncology, and a Group Leader at the Division of Molecular Oncology and Immunology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute - Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital (NKI-AVL), Amsterdam. In 2010, Dr Blank became University Lecturer (Privatdozent) at the University of Regensburg. In addition to his academic background, Dr Blank obtained his Master of Business Administration (MBA), from the University of Warwick, England, UK (2006). Dr Blank is committed to teaching, lecturing on medical courses at the NKI-AVL and the Medical School of the University of Regensburg, where he was appointed Professor in 2015. In 2020 he was additionally appointed Professor at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) in The Netherlands (oration on 14.10.2022 with the title “A cycle of life of T cell activation”).

He is a member of several prestigious societies, including ESMO and ASCO. Dr Blank has been an invited speaker at more than 250 national and international congresses, and is the author of more than 200 publications. His research interests broadly include neoadjuvant immunotherapies, targeted and biological response modifiers, and prognostic markers for cancer immunotherapies. Dr Blank has been the principal investigator of several investigator initiate trials testing neoadjuvant immunotherapy in melanoma that are currently changing the treatment landscape.

Publications