Luc van der Laan is Professor of Liver Regenerative Medicine and serves as the Head of the Laboratory of Experimental Transplantation and Intestinal Surgery (LETIS) at the Erasmus MC Transplant Institute, Department of Surgery, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Netherlands. He is dedicated to pioneering research in regenerative medicine and organ transplantation. His academic journey commenced in Amsterdam, where he studied Biology at the University of Amsterdam and completed his PhD in Immunology at the VU in 1998. As a post-doctoral researcher, he moved to the life-sciences hub of San Diego, California, spending three years at Scripps Research Institute, focusing on islet transplantation and xenogenic infections (Nature 2000). With over 225 international peer-reviewed publications, he has garnered numerous national and international scientific awards including the ILTS Basic Science Award. He mentored numerous graduate and PhD students, nurturing the next generation of scientific talent. His team has made significant contributions to the field, including advancements of patient-specific organoids for modeling liver cancer (Acta Biomater. 2023, Nat. Med. 2018), elucidating novel pathways involved in branching morphogenesis in bile duct organoids (Cell Stem Cell 2022), and pioneering advanced decellularization methodologies for extracting extracellular matrix from human liver, bile duct, and tumor tissue (Biomater. 2022, Mater. Sci. Eng. C. 2020). He guided consensus building on the new nomenclature for liver and pancreas organoids (Cell Stem Cell 2021). Since 2024, he hold an additional appointment at Delft University of Technology as Medical Delta Professor and Convergence Health Technology. Actively engaged in professional societies, Luc serves as a board member of the Dutch Society for Stem Cell Research (DSSCR) and the European Cell Therapy and Organ Regeneration Section of ESOT. His professional aspirations center on unlocking the potential of regenerative medicine utilizing organoids and biomaterials for liver diseases and the advancement of liver transplantation.

Research Interest: Liver transplantation, Hepatitis C, Immune suppression, Stem cells, MicroRNAs.

List of Publications:

1. Sleeboom JJF, van Tienderen GS, Schenke-Layland K, van der Laan LJW, Khalil AA, Verstegen MMA. The extracellular matrix as hallmark of cancer and metastasis: From biomechanics to therapeutic targets. Science Translational Medicine 2024;16 (728) (IF 17)
2. van der Laan LJW, Bosker T, and Peijnenburg WJG. Deciphering potential implications of dietary microplastics for human health. Nat Rev Gastro Hep 2023 20(6):340-341 (IF 73)
3. Roos FJM, van Tienderen GS, Wu H, Bordeu I, Vinke D, Albarinos LM, Monfils K, Niesten S, Smits R, Willemse J, Rosmark O, Westergren-Thorsson G, Kunz DJ, de Wit M, French PJ, Vallier L, IJzermans JNM, Bartfai R, Marks H, Simons BD, van Royen ME, Verstegen MMA, van der Laan LJW. Human branching cholangiocyte organoids recapitulate functional bile duct formation. Cell Stem Cell. 2022 May 5;29(5):776-794 (IF 25)
4. Willemse J, van Tienderen G, van Hengel E, Schurink I, van der Ven D, Kan Y, de Ruiter P, Rosmark O, Westergren-Thorsson G G, Schneeberger K, van der Eerden B, Roest H, Spee B, van der Laan LJW, de Jonge J, Verstegen MMA. Hydrogels derived from decellularized liver tissue support the growth and differentiation of cholangiocyte organoids. Biomaterials 2022 284:121473. (IF 15)
5. van Tienderen G, Li L, Broutier L, SaitoY, Inacio P, Huch M, Selaru FM/Verstegen MM/van der Laan LJ. Hepatobiliary tumor organoids for personalized medicine: a multicenter view on establishment, limitations and future directions. Cancer Cell. 2022, 2022.02.001 (IF 31)
6. Marsee A, Roos FJM, Verstegen MMA; HPB Organoid Consortium, Gehart H, de Koning E, Lemaigre F, Forbes SJ, Peng WC, Huch M, Takebe T, Vallier L, Clevers H, Spee B/van der Laan LJ. Building consensus on definition and nomenclature of hepatic, pancreatic, and biliary organoids. Cell Stem Cell 2021, 28:816-832 (IF 24)
7. Broutier L, Mastrogiovanni G, Verstegen MM, Francies HE, Gavarró LM, Bradshaw  CR, Allen GE, Arnes-Benito R, Sidorova O, Gaspersz MP, Georgakopoulos N, Koo BK, Dietmann S, Davies SE, Praseedom RK, Lieshout R, IJzermans JNM, Wigmore SJ, Saeb-Parsy K, Garnett MJ, van der Laan LJ, Huch M. Human primary liver cancer-derived organoid cultures for disease modeling and drug screening. Nat Med. 2017 23:1424-1435 (IF 53)
8. Ramakrishnaiah V, Thumann C, Fofana I, Habersetzer F, Pan Q, de Ruiter PE, Willemsen R, Demmers JA, Stalin Raj V, Jenster G, Kwekkeboom J, Tilanus HW, Haagmans BL, Baumert TF and van der Laan LJ. Exosome-mediated transmission of hepatitis C virus between human hepatoma Huh7.5 cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2013 110: 13109-13 (IF 11)
9. Verhoeven CJ, Farid WR, de Ruiter PE, Hansen BE, Roest HP, Jonge JD, Kwekkeboom J, Metselaar HJ, Tilanus HW, Kazemier G, van der Laan LJ. MicroRNA profiles in graft preservation solution are predictive for ischemic-type biliary lesions after liver transplantation. J. Hepatol. 2013 59: 1231–1238 (IF 25)
10. Pan Q, Ramakrishnaiah V, Henry SD, Fouraschen S, Kwekkeboom J, Tilanus HW, Janssen HLA and van der Laan LJ. Hepatic cell-to-cell transmission of small silencing RNA can extend the therapeutic reach of RNAi Gut 2012 61: 1330-1339 (IF 23)