Jacques (Sjaak) Neefjes (born 8 December 1959) is a Dutch scientist who made breakthroughs in several research disciplines such as

immunology Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see there ...

cell biology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living and ...

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

, cancer biology,

microbiology Microbiology () is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, bacteriology, prot ...

, and

epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidenc ...

. He is a professor at the

Leiden University Medical Center Leiden University Medical Center (Dutch: ''Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum'') or LUMC is the university hospital affiliated with Leiden University, of which it forms the medical faculty. It is located in Leiden, Netherlands. LUMC is a modern un ...

. In 2020 he was one of four winners of the

Spinoza Prize The Spinoza Prize ( nl, Spinozapremie) is an annual award of 2.5 million euro, to be spent on new research given by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The award is the highest scientific award in the Netherlands. It is named after the philosopher ...

Biography

From 1979 to 1985, Jacques Neefjes studied Chemistry at the

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, being founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research ...

. Then, he performed his Ph.D. studies at the Division of Cellular Biochemistry, in the

Netherlands Cancer Institute The Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) in Amsterdam was founded in 1913 by, among others, the surgeon Jacob Rotgans. The NKI, together with the Antoni van Leeuwenhoekziekenhuis, is formed into the NKI-AVL, which combines a scientific research ins ...

(NKI) under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Ploegh in Amsterdam. During his thesis, he investigated the ''Cell Biological Aspect of MHC class I and II molecules''. He obtained his Ph.D. degree on the 2nd of November 1990 with

Cum Laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

. After his Ph.D., Jacques Neefjes did two post-doctoral visits. First, from 1991 to 1992, he visited the laboratory of Drs Benoit and Mathis at the Institut de Chimie Biologique, Strasbourg (France). Then, he obtained a 2-year fellowship from the

European Molecular Biology Organization The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) is a professional, non-profit organization of more than 1,800 life scientists. Its goal is to promote research in life science and enable international exchange between scientists. It co-funds cour ...

(EMBO) to visit the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Hämmerling at the

German Cancer Research Center The German Cancer Research Center (known as the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum or simply DKFZ in German) is a national cancer research center based in Heidelberg, Germany. It is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres, ...

(DKFZ), in Heidelberg (Germany) from 1992 to 1993. In 1993, Jacques Neefjes became a staff member of the Division of Cellular Biochemistry at the NKI. In 1998, he became head of the division of Tumor Biology. From 1999 to 2016, he occupied the position of "Extraordinary professor" at the

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

. He was the Dean of the Graduate School Oncology Amsterdam (OOA) from 2000 to 2003. Since 2016, he is head of the Cell and Chemical Biology department at the

(the Netherlands).

Works

During his career, Jacques Neefjes has authored more than 280

scientific publications : ''For a broader class of literature, see Academic publishing.'' Scientific literature comprises scholarly publications that report original empirical and theoretical work in the natural and social sciences. Within an academic field, scient ...

reaching more than 30,000 citations. Neefjes’ discoveries on

antigen presentation Antigen presentation is a vital immune process that is essential for T cell immune response triggering. Because T cells recognize only fragmented antigens displayed on cell surfaces, antigen processing must occur before the antigen fragment, now ...

by the class I and II

major histocompatibility complex The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a large locus on vertebrate DNA containing a set of closely linked polymorphic genes that code for cell surface proteins essential for the adaptive immune system. These cell surface proteins are calle ...

es (MHC) constitute today's textbook knowledge. Through his exploration of the cell biology of the MHC, Jacques Neefjes became an expert on

endocytosis Endocytosis is a cellular process in which substances are brought into the cell. The material to be internalized is surrounded by an area of cell membrane, which then buds off inside the cell to form a vesicle containing the ingested material. E ...

and

intracellular transport Intracellular transport is the movement of vesicles and substances within a cell. Intracellular transport is required for maintaining homeostasis within the cell by responding to physiological signals. Proteins synthesized in the cytosol are dist ...

. In 2017, Neefjes and his team made fundamental discoveries regarding endosome positioning by the endoplasmic reticulum. Neefjes further expanded his work on

endosomes Endosomes are a collection of intracellular sorting organelles in eukaryotic cells. They are parts of endocytic membrane transport pathway originating from the trans Golgi network. Molecules or ligands internalized from the plasma membrane can ...

phagosomes In cell biology, a phagosome is a Vesicle (biology), vesicle formed around a particle engulfed by a phagocyte via phagocytosis. Professional phagocytes include macrophages, neutrophils, and dendritic cells (DCs). A phagosome is formed by the fus ...

and

intracellular This glossary of biology terms is a list of definitions of fundamental terms and concepts used in biology, the study of life and of living organisms. It is intended as introductory material for novices; for more specific and technical definitions ...

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...

. By combining

and

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

with

genetic screens A genetic screen or mutagenesis screen is an experimental technique used to identify and select individuals who possess a phenotype of interest in a mutagenized population. Hence a genetic screen is a type of phenotypic screen. Genetic screens c ...

, Neefjes identified

inhibitor Inhibitor or inhibition may refer to: In biology * Enzyme inhibitor, a substance that binds to an enzyme and decreases the enzyme's activity * Reuptake inhibitor, a substance that increases neurotransmission by blocking the reuptake of a neurotra ...

s to disturb bacterial survival strategies, representing one of the first

antibiotics An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention o ...

acting by targeting the host, rather than the

pathogen In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ ...

. In 2015, Neefjes has demonstrated that ''

Salmonella ''Salmonella'' is a genus of rod-shaped (bacillus) Gram-negative bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The two species of ''Salmonella'' are ''Salmonella enterica'' and ''Salmonella bongori''. ''S. enterica'' is the type species and is fur ...

'' infection promote

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

development. Since 2019, Jacques Neefjes is co-financing the production of a promising

cancer drug Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...

Aclarubicin Aclarubicin (INN) or aclacinomycin A is an anthracycline drug that is used in the treatment of cancer. Soil bacteria '' Streptomyces galilaeus'' can produce aclarubicin. It can induce histone eviction from chromatin Chromatin is a complex of ...

, which disappeared from the European market at the beginning of the 21st century.

Distinction

Honours and awards

* 1990

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek ( ; ; 24 October 1632 – 26 August 1723) was a Dutch microbiologist and microscopist in the Golden Age of Dutch science and technology. A largely self-taught man in science, he is commonly known as " the ...

award * 1996 Golden Medal of the

Royal Dutch Chemical Society The Royal Netherlands Chemical Society (In Dutch: ''Koninklijke Nederlandse Chemische Vereniging'', abbreviated: KNCV) is a learned society and professional association founded in 1903 to represent the interests of chemists and chemical engineers ...

(KNCV) * 2007 Elected as a member of

(EMBO) * 2010 Elected as a member at the European Academy of Cancer Sciences * 2013 Elected as a member of

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europea ...

* 2013 Recipient and main applicant for the Gravity Program at the Institute for Chemical Immunology ICI * 2014 Elected as a member of the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters ( no, Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick Univer ...

(Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi) * 2015 Elected as a member and Dutch representative in the

European Cooperation in Science and Technology The European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST Association) is running an EU-funded programme which enables researchers and innovators to set-up their own research networks in a wide range of scientific topics, called COST Actions. Whil ...

Committee * 2015 Elected as a member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...

(KNAW) * 2015 van Loghem Lecture, the annual career award for research in Immunology from the Dutch Immunology Society NVVI * 2019 Josephine Nefkens Award for cancer research * 2020

Honorary Lectures

* 2012 Ruysch lecture AMC, Amsterdam * 2012 Beatty Lecture, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Selected research articles

''The Biosynthetic Pathway of MHC Class II but Not Class I Molecules Intersects the Endocytic Route.''
Neefjes JJ, Stollorx V, Peters PJ, Geuze HJ, and Ploegh HL.
Cell. 1990. 61:171-183. ''The major substrates for TAP in vivo are derived from newly synthesized proteins.''
Reits EA, Vos JC, Grommé M, and Neefjes JJ.
Nature. 2000. 404:774–778. ''Intracellular bacterial growth is controlled by a kinase network around PKB/AKT1.''
Kuijl C, Savage ND, Marsman M, Tuin AW, Janssen L, Egan DA, Ketema M, Van Den Nieuwendijk R, Van Den Eeden SJ, Geluk A, Poot A, Van Der Marel G, Beijersbergen RL, Overkleeft H, Ottenhoff TH, and Neefjes JJ.
Nature. 2007. 450:725–730 ''An ER-Associated Pathway Defines Endosomal Architecture for Controlled Cargo Transport.''
Jongsma ML, Berlin I, Wijdeven RH, Janssen L, Janssen GM, Garstka MA, Janssen H, Mensink M, van Veelen PA, Spaapen RM, and Neefjes JJ.
Cell. 2016. 166:152-166

References

External links

*
ORCID.org

ResearchGate.net Researchgate Profile

Jacques Neefjes

universiteitleiden.nl

ae-info.org

Profile on department website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neefjes, Jacques Dutch medical researchers Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam alumni 1959 births Academic staff of Leiden University Living people Members of Academia Europaea Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Spinoza Prize winners