A.M. (Anne) van der Does, PhD

I am currently an Associate Professor and Principal Investigator (PI) at the PulmoScience Lab at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), where I focus on developing advanced lung cell culture models and using these models in research focused on repair & regeneration of lung tissue and respiratory host defense. My journey began with a Biology degree, followed with a PhD at the department of Infectious Diseases at the LUMC. Postdoctoral roles at Karolinska Institutet and LUMC expanded my expertise in (respiratory) host defense mechanisms and advanced tissue modeling technologies like Lung-on-Chip. I chair the Lung-on-Chip theme group of the Dutch Organ-on-Chip consortium (hDMT), am actively involved in the European and Dutch Respiratory Society and chair the International Antimicrobial Host Defence Peptide Network (iAMPNet).
Beyond research, I am involved in teaching (bio)medical students, supervising PhD-students and postdocs, and teaching activities outside the LUMC. I actively promote animal-free research innovations through public engagements.

During my career I was awarded a Marie Curie fellowship twice, of which the second included a one year hands-on experience in an Organs-on-Chips company. I secured various grants for ground-breaking projects on modelling for example ARDS-related fibrosis, regenerative strategies for lung repair and studying host-coronavirus interactions. We are currently developing vascularized lung models to study intercompartmental cross-talk in lung tissue injury and are part of a national consortium (RecovAir) that aims to develop a locally administered regenerative cell therapy for tissue restoration in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Our regenerative medicine strategies and studies on progressive tissue injury in patients with lung disease fit the Regenerative Medicine of Tissues and Organs theme perfectly. We furthermore study host pathogen interactions related to various lung diseases and their effect on progressive tissue loss which fits the Infection theme.