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Dr. Julie Decock
Senior Scientist Joint Associate Professor
Dr. Julie Decock
Senior Scientist Joint Associate Professor
Educational Qualifications
PhD
MSc in Biomedical Sciences
Entity
Qatar Biomedical Research Institute
College of Health and Life Sciences
Divison
Translational Oncology Research Center
Biography
Dr. Julie Decock received her Master of Science (MSc) in Biomedical Sciences from the Free University of Brussels (VUB, Belgium) and completed her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Medical Sciences at the Catholic University of Leuven, KU Leuven, Belgium. Her doctoral research focused on the cancer degradome, the repertoire of proteases in the tumor microenvironment that contribute to shaping the extracellular environment and modulating pericellular signaling, thereby affecting tumor progression and clinical outcome.
She joined QBRI in 2013 and established a research program in the areas of tumor antigen discovery and tumor immunity, two key research areas that can help accelerate breast cancer research and advance the development of new treatments. Currently, her research focuses on cancer testis antigens, a group of tumor associated antigens that play pivotal roles in tumorigenesis and progression, and display high tumor specificity with minimal on- and off-target side effects. Her efforts have demonstrated that cancer testis antigens not only play important roles in multiple cancer hallmarks but can also serve as tumor specific molecular targets and modulators of anti-tumor immunity, offering diverse opportunities for anti-cancer targeting.
PhD
Faculty of Medicine, Catholic University of Leuven (KULeuven), Belgium
2008
MSc in Biomedical Sciences
Free University of Brussels (VUB), Belgium
2002
- Tumor-derived and circulating immune-related biomarkers in breast cancer
- The role of cancer testis antigens within the tumor-immune ecosystem
- Therapeutic potential of targeting cancer testis antigens for precision medicine in breast cancer
- Genetic determinants of non-BRCA high-risk familial breast cancer
Scientist, Translational Oncology Research Center
Qatar Biomedical Research Institute (QBRI), Qatar.
2016 - present
Joint Assistant Professor
College of Health and Life Sciences (CHLS), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), Doha, Qatar.
2016 - present
Postdoctoral Researcher
Translational Oncology Research Center, Qatar Biomedical Research Institute (QBRI), Qatar.
2013 - 2016
Postdoctoral Researcher
School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of East Anglia (UEA), UK.
2008 - 2013
- Al-Siddiqi HH, Butler AE, Decock J, Mohamed-Ali V, Al-Ejeh F. Prognostic tools and candidate drugs based on plasma proteomics of patients with severe COVID-19 complications. Nat Commun. 2022;13(1):946. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28639-4.
- Targeting of lactate dehydrogenase C dysregulates the cell cycle and sensitizes breast cancer cells to DNA damage response targeted therapy. Mol Oncol. 2022 Feb;16(4):885-903. doi: 10.1002/1878-0261.13024.
- Cancer testis antigen PRAME: An anti-cancer target with immunomodulatory potential. J Cell Mol Med. 2021;25(22):10376-103888. doi: 10.1111/jcmm.16967.
- Immune checkpoint inhibitors in triple negative breast cancer treatment: promising future prospects. Front Oncol. 2021;10:600573. doi:10.3389/fonc.2020.600573.
- Ancestry-associated transcriptomic profiles of breast cancer in patients of African, Arab and European ancestry. NPJ Breast Cancer. 2021 Feb 8;7(1):10. doi: 10.1038/s41523-021-00215-x.
- Immune checkpoints in the tumor microenvironment. Semin Cancer Biol. 2020;65:1-12. doi: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2019.06.021.
- Lactate Metabolism and Immune Modulation in Breast Cancer: A Focused Review on Triple Negative Breast Tumors. Front. Oncol., doi:10.3389/fonc.2020.598626.
- Identification of two HLA-A*0201 immunogenic epitopes of lactate dehydrogenase C (LDHC): potential novel targets for cancer immunotherapy. Cancer Immunol Immunother. 2020 Jan 13. doi: 10.1007/s00262-020-02480-4.
- The obesity paradox in cancer, tumor immunology and immunotherapy: Focus on triple negative breast cancer. Front. Immunol. 10:1940. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.01940. Review.
- Cancer Testis Antigens and Immunotherapy: Where Do We Stand in the Targeting of PRAME? Cancers (Basel). 2019 Jul 15; 11(7). Review.
- PRAME promotes epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in triple negative breast cancer. J Transl Med. 17(1):9. doi: 10.1186/s12967-018-1757-3.
- NY-ESO-1 based immunotherapy of cancer: current perspectives. Front. Immunol. 9:947. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.00947. Review.
- Complete list of publications https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/julie.decock.1/bibliography/public/
- Elected as full member of the Royal Society of Biology, UK (2022)
- Open Initiative Award 2020, Qatar National Library, Qatar
- Recognition for excellence 2016, Cancer Biology and Therapeutics Program (HMS-CBT), Harvard Medical School, USA
- Open Initiative Award 2020, Qatar National Library, Qatar
- Recognition for excellence 2016, Cancer Biology and Therapeutics Program (HMS-CBT), Harvard Medical School, USA.
- HBKU Thematic Research Grant Program, “Validation of LDHC as a novel target for precision medicine in breast cancer”. Lead PI, 2021-2023.
- QBRI Internal Grant Program (IGP), “Exploration of novel therapeutic opportunities targeting LDHC in triple negative breast cancer”. Lead PI, 2021-2024.
- QBRI Interdisciplinary research program (IDRP), “Integrative, translational research against COVID-19”. Lead PI, 2021-2023.
- QBRI Internal Grant Program (IGP), “Mechanisms in pancreatic development and breast cancer stemness mitigated by Sox2”. Co-PI, 2021-2024.
- “How beta cell-derived interleukin-33 shapes T cell regulation in T1D”. Co-PI (2020-2023).
- QBRI Interdisciplinary research program (IDRP), “Diagnostic and predictive biomarkers in breast cancer”. Co-PI, 2019-2024.
- QBRI Interdisciplinary research program (IDRP), “An integrated -omic approach to identify biomarkers for Type 2 Diabetes associated complications and comorbidities”. Co-PI, 2018-2023.
- QBRI Interdisciplinary research program (IDRP), “Identifying Potential Molecular Biomarkers for Autism Spectrum Disorder”. Co-PI, 2018-2023.
- QBRI Internal Grant Program (IGP #2016-003), “Pilot study of the role of Lactate Dehydrogenase C (LDHC) in the growth and migratory potential of triple negative breast cancer cells”. Lead PI, 2017-2019.
- QBRI Internal Grant Program (IGP #2014-006), “Cancer Testis Antigens as candidate targets for cancer immunotherapy of Triple Negative Breast Cancer and the role of hypoxia in T cell based immunotherapy. Lead PI, 2016-2019.