Johanna Olweus
- Professor; MD, PhD
- +47 2278 13 25 / +47 900 54 934
Office: K02 050
About group leader and principal investigator Johanna Olweus:
I feel very fortunate that science is my hobby in addition to being my job. I really think I have the best job there is, and I hope to inspire others to join the fascinating field of cancer immunology. My professional background started with graduation from medical school in Bergen, Norway in 1992. I then went further west to work for almost five years as a scientist at Becton Dickinson in San Jose, California, funded by a PhD grant from the Norwegian Research Council. By use of flow cytometers with ultra high sensitivity, I conducted the first high resolution studies on cytokine receptors on human hematopoietic progenitor cells. This work was performed in collaboration with my husband Fridtjof Lund-Johansen. I defended my PhD at the University of Bergen in 1998. I thereafter had a break in my scientific activities while completing medical internship and taking maternity leaves with three boys. However, in parallel with a residency as an MD in immunology and transfusion medicine (specialist in 2006), I built up a research group around studies of antigen presenting cells, and subsequently cancer immunotherapy. During my residency at the Institute for Immunology at Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, I learned about HLA-typing and workups in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and that T cells from healthy donors can be very powerful at eradicating cancer cells in patients. This lead to my interest in using various modalities of donor-derived immunity in cancer immunotherapy (see Research interests). By the end of 2007 I joined the Department of Cancer Immunology at the Institute for Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital Radiumhospitalet, as a Scientist. By end of 2008, I was appointed Head of Department, and Professor at the University of Oslo. Our group was also a partnering group of the K.G.Jebsen Center for Inflammation Research, and of Oslo University Hospital Focus area Cancer Immunotherapy. I was recently awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant (September 2020-2025) to pursue the goal of utilizing the mechanism of transplant rejection to identify self-reactive, therapeutic TCRs from healthy donors with the project “OUTSOURCE”. In Dec 2021 our group published proof-of-concept for this approach in Nature Biotechnology.
Publications 2023
A systematic safety pipeline for selection of T-cell receptors to enter clinical use
NPJ Vaccines, 8 (1), 126
DOI 10.1038/s41541-023-00713-y, PubMed 37607971
A T cell receptor targeting a recurrent driver mutation in FLT3 mediates elimination of primary human acute myeloid leukemia in vivo
Nat Cancer, 4 (10), 1474-1490
DOI 10.1038/s43018-023-00642-8, PubMed 37783807
Prevalent and immunodominant CD8 T cell epitopes are conserved in SARS-CoV-2 variants
Cell Rep, 42 (1), 111995
DOI 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.111995, PubMed 36656713
Diversity of intratumoral regulatory T cells in B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma
Blood Adv, 7 (23), 7216-7230
DOI 10.1182/bloodadvances.2023010158, PubMed 37695745
Publications 2022
Chasing neoantigens; invite naïve T cells to the party
Curr Opin Immunol, 75, 102172
DOI 10.1016/j.coi.2022.102172, PubMed 35279483
Tryptophan depletion results in tryptophan-to-phenylalanine substitutants
Nature, 603 (7902), 721-727
DOI 10.1038/s41586-022-04499-2, PubMed 35264796
Author Correction: Tryptophan depletion results in tryptophan-to-phenylalanine substitutants
Nature, 608 (7922), E20
DOI 10.1038/s41586-022-05097-y, PubMed 35840685
Rituximab-treated patients with lymphoma develop strong CD8 T-cell responses following COVID-19 vaccination
Br J Haematol, 197 (6), 697-708
DOI 10.1111/bjh.18149, PubMed 35254660
Publications 2021
T cells targeted to TdT kill leukemic lymphoblasts while sparing normal lymphocytes
Nat Biotechnol, 40 (4), 488-498
DOI 10.1038/s41587-021-01089-x, PubMed 34873326
Advances in immune therapies in hematological malignancies
J Intern Med, 292 (2), 205-220
DOI 10.1111/joim.13395, PubMed 34624160
Publications 2020
A Systemic Protein Deviation Score Linked to PD-1+ CD8+ T Cell Expansion That Predicts Overall Survival in Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma
Med, 2 (2), 180-195.e5
DOI 10.1016/j.medj.2020.10.006, PubMed 35590201
Anti-tumour immunity induces aberrant peptide presentation in melanoma
Nature, 590 (7845), 332-337
DOI 10.1038/s41586-020-03054-1, PubMed 33328638
Publications 2019
Induction of neoantigen-reactive T cells from healthy donors
Nat Protoc, 14 (6), 1926-1943
DOI 10.1038/s41596-019-0170-6, PubMed 31101906
Finding Neo (antigens, that is)
Blood, 134 (2), 108-109
DOI 10.1182/blood.2019001334, PubMed 31296544
Publications 2018
Intrinsic Functional Potential of NK-Cell Subsets Constrains Retargeting Driven by Chimeric Antigen Receptors
Cancer Immunol Res, 6 (4), 467-480
DOI 10.1158/2326-6066.CIR-17-0207, PubMed 29459477
Publications 2017
The Potential of Donor T-Cell Repertoires in Neoantigen-Targeted Cancer Immunotherapy
Front Immunol, 8, 1718
DOI 10.3389/fimmu.2017.01718, PubMed 29321773
Manufacture of CAR-T cells in the body
Nat Biotechnol, 35 (6), 520-521
DOI 10.1038/nbt.3898, PubMed 28591119
Defective IL-4 signaling in T cells defines severe common variable immunodeficiency
J Autoimmun, 81, 110-119
DOI 10.1016/j.jaut.2017.04.004, PubMed 28476239
Publications 2016
Gut and liver T-cells of common clonal origin in primary sclerosing cholangitis-inflammatory bowel disease
J Hepatol, 66 (1), 116-122
DOI 10.1016/j.jhep.2016.09.002, PubMed 27647428
Targeting B-cell neoplasia with T-cell receptors recognizing a CD20-derived peptide on patient-specific HLA
Oncoimmunology, 5 (5), e1138199
DOI 10.1080/2162402X.2016.1138199, PubMed 27467957
Targeting of cancer neoantigens with donor-derived T cell receptor repertoires
Science, 352 (6291), 1337-41
DOI 10.1126/science.aaf2288, PubMed 27198675
Patterns of constitutively phosphorylated kinases in B cells are associated with disease severity in common variable immunodeficiency
Clin Immunol, 175, 69-74
DOI 10.1016/j.clim.2016.11.014, PubMed 27919819
Publications 2015
T-cell receptor gene therapy--ready to go viral?
Mol Oncol, 9 (10), 2019-42
DOI 10.1016/j.molonc.2015.10.006, PubMed 26548533
"In situ" vaccination for systemic effects in follicular lymphoma
Oncoimmunology, 4 (7), e1014773
DOI 10.1080/2162402X.2015.1014773, PubMed 26140239
High-throughput T-cell receptor sequencing across chronic liver diseases reveals distinct disease-associated repertoires
Hepatology, 63 (5), 1608-19
DOI 10.1002/hep.28116, PubMed 26257205
Cancer immunotherapy--Converting immune failure to clinical response
Mol Oncol, 9 (10), 1891-3
DOI 10.1016/j.molonc.2015.10.017, PubMed 26563645
Unpredicted phenotypes of two mutants of the TcR DMF5
J Immunol Methods, 425, 37-44
DOI 10.1016/j.jim.2015.06.006, PubMed 26079729
Soluble T-cell receptors produced in human cells for targeted delivery
PLoS One, 10 (4), e0119559
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0119559, PubMed 25875651
Publications 2014
Sequential intranodal immunotherapy induces antitumor immunity and correlated regression of disseminated follicular lymphoma
Blood, 125 (1), 82-9
DOI 10.1182/blood-2014-07-592162, PubMed 25293773
High-throughput sequencing of TCR repertoires in multiple sclerosis reveals intrathecal enrichment of EBV-reactive CD8+ T cells
Eur J Immunol, 44 (11), 3439-52
DOI 10.1002/eji.201444662, PubMed 25103993
Common variable immunodeficiency revisited: normal generation of naturally occurring dendritic cells that respond to Toll-like receptors 7 and 9
Clin Exp Immunol, 175 (3), 439-48
DOI 10.1111/cei.12239, PubMed 24237110
Publications 2013
Alloreactive cytotoxic T cells provide means to decipher the immunopeptidome and reveal a plethora of tumor-associated self-epitopes
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 111 (1), 403-8
DOI 10.1073/pnas.1306549111, PubMed 24344295
Invariant chain as a vehicle to load antigenic peptides on human MHC class I for cytotoxic T-cell activation
Eur J Immunol, 44 (3), 774-84
DOI 10.1002/eji.201343671, PubMed 24293164
Publications 2012
[Can the immune system target cancer?]
Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen, 132 (7), 784-5
DOI 10.4045/tidsskr.12.0156, PubMed 22511078
Publications 2011
T cells raised against allogeneic HLA-A2/CD20 kill primary follicular lymphoma and acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells
Int J Cancer, 130 (8), 1821-32
DOI 10.1002/ijc.26209, PubMed 21630262
A practical approach to T-cell receptor cloning and expression
PLoS One, 6 (11), e27930
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0027930, PubMed 22132171
Publications 2010
Targeting B cell leukemia with highly specific allogeneic T cells with a public recognition motif
Leukemia, 24 (11), 1901-9
DOI 10.1038/leu.2010.186, PubMed 20844564
Publications 2009
Dendritic cells in cytomegalovirus infection: viral evasion and host countermeasures
APMIS, 117 (5-6), 413-26
DOI 10.1111/j.1600-0463.2009.02449.x, PubMed 19400865
Dendritic cells engineered to express defined allo-HLA peptide complexes induce antigen-specific cytotoxic T cells efficiently killing tumour cells
Scand J Immunol, 69 (4), 319-28
DOI 10.1111/j.1365-3083.2008.02223.x, PubMed 19284496
Publications 2007
Assay for monitoring in vitro selective depletion strategies in allogeneic stem cell transplantation
Cytotherapy, 9 (6), 600-10
DOI 10.1080/14653240701510573, PubMed 17882725
Publications 2006
Plasmacytoid DCs regulate recall responses by rapid induction of IL-10 in memory T cells
Blood, 109 (8), 3369-76
DOI 10.1182/blood-2006-06-031484, PubMed 17158235
Publications 2005
CD11c+ dendritic cells and plasmacytoid DCs are activated by human cytomegalovirus and retain efficient T cell-stimulatory capability upon infection
Blood, 107 (5), 2022-9
DOI 10.1182/blood-2005-05-2016, PubMed 16269620
Publications 1999
Malignancy: Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) is a Costimulator of the Expansion of Lineage Committed Cells Derived from Peripheral Blood Mobilized CD34+ Cells in Multiple Myeloma Patients
Hematology, 4 (3), 217-229
PubMed 11399566
Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) is a Costimulator of the Expansion of Lineage Committed Cells Derived from Peripheral Blood Mobilized CD34(+) Cells in Multiple Myeloma Patients
Hematology, 4 (3), 217-29
DOI 10.1080/10245332.1999.11746445, PubMed 27420550
Primitive human hematopoietic progenitor cells express receptors for granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor
Exp Hematol, 27 (4), 762-72
DOI 10.1016/s0301-472x(98)00081-2, PubMed 10210334
[Dendritic cells--strong candidates for immunotherapy]
Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen, 119 (17), 2510-4
PubMed 10425906
Publications 1998
Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) has a costimulatory effect on proliferation of committed progenitors derived from human umbilical cord CD34+ cells
Stem Cells, 16 (5), 334-42
DOI 10.1002/stem.160334, PubMed 9766813
Early events in human myelopoiesis
APMIS Suppl, 78, 1-36
PubMed 9645190
Early events in human myelopoiesis
APMIS, 106 78, 5-36
Early events in human myelopoiesis
In APMIS, Supplementum, Blackwell Munksgaard, Oxford, no. 78, 1 b. (flere pag.)
BIBSYS 981928331, ISBN 87-16-15697-8
Publications 1997
Dendritic cell ontogeny: a human dendritic cell lineage of myeloid origin
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 94 (23), 12551-6
DOI 10.1073/pnas.94.23.12551, PubMed 9356487
AC133, a novel marker for human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells
Blood, 90 (12), 5002-12
PubMed 9389720
Publications 1996
Sustained, retransplantable, multilineage engraftment of highly purified adult human bone marrow stem cells in vivo
Blood, 88 (11), 4102-9
PubMed 8943843
Expression and function of receptors for stem cell factor and erythropoietin during lineage commitment of human hematopoietic progenitor cells
Blood, 88 (5), 1594-607
PubMed 8781415
Granulocytic and monocytic differentiation of CD34hi cells is associated with distinct changes in the expression of the PU.1-regulated molecules, CD64 and macrophage colony-stimulating factor receptor
Blood, 88 (10), 3741-54
PubMed 8916938
Publications 1995
CD64/Fc gamma RI is a granulo-monocytic lineage marker on CD34+ hematopoietic progenitor cells
Blood, 85 (9), 2402-13
PubMed 7537112
The "common stem cell" hypothesis reevaluated: human fetal bone marrow contains separate populations of hematopoietic and stromal progenitors
Blood, 85 (9), 2422-35
PubMed 7537114
Publications 1994
Expression of cell surface markers during differentiation of CD34+, CD38-/lo fetal and adult bone marrow cells
Immunomethods, 5 (3), 179-88
DOI 10.1006/immu.1994.1054, PubMed 7540098
Publications 1993
Use of monoclonal antibodies to study hematopoietic cell function
J Hematother, 2 (3), 395-412
DOI 10.1089/scd.1.1993.2.395, PubMed 7922002
Activation of human monocytes and granulocytes by monoclonal antibodies to glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored antigens
Eur J Immunol, 23 (11), 2782-91
DOI 10.1002/eji.1830231110, PubMed 8223854
CD53, a protein with four membrane-spanning domains, mediates signal transduction in human monocytes and B cells
J Immunol, 151 (2), 707-16
PubMed 8335905
Assessment of hematopoietic cell differentiation by multidimensional flow cytometry
J Hematother, 2 (3), 431-47
DOI 10.1089/scd.1.1993.2.431, PubMed 7522894
Publications 1992
Signal transduction in monocytes and granulocytes measured by multiparameter flow cytometry
Cytometry, 13 (7), 693-702
DOI 10.1002/cyto.990130705, PubMed 1451600
Activation of human phagocytes through carbohydrate antigens (CD15, sialyl-CD15, CDw17, and CDw65)
J Immunol, 148 (10), 3221-9
PubMed 1349618
Publications 1991
The IgG FcRII and the PI-linked IgG FcRIII trigger cytoplasmic calcium fluxes independently in human granulocytes
Scand J Immunol, 33 (3), 261-6
DOI 10.1111/j.1365-3083.1991.tb01771.x, PubMed 1826373
Blood flow regulation during acute regional ischemia in feline hearts: importance of postjunctional alpha 1- and alpha 2-adrenoceptors
J Cardiovasc Pharmacol, 18 (4), 487-95
DOI 10.1097/00005344-199110000-00003, PubMed 1724524
Publications 1990
Signal transduction in human monocytes and granulocytes through the PI-linked antigen CD14
FEBS Lett, 273 (1-2), 55-8
DOI 10.1016/0014-5793(90)81049-t, PubMed 1699812