Focus of research
Treatment of patients with multiple myeloma with novel immunotherapies, such as CAR T-cell therapy and T-cell redirecting bispecific antibodies in phase 1, 2, and 3 clinical trials
Improve the clinical outcomes of patients with primary plasma cell leukemia
Evaluation of new targets for therapy with a focus on immune therapy
Research towards resistance mechanisms towards immunotherapies (antibodies, CAR T-cell therapy, and T-cell redirecting bispecific), in order to improve the activity of these therapies

Niels van de Donk’s special interest is the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma. He is the principal investigator of several investigator-initiated studies. Furthermore, he is involved in translational research towards finding new targets for therapy with a focus on immune therapy. He is also involved in the evaluation of new agents in preclinical studies, as well as in early (first-in-man) and more advanced clinical trials. This includes the investigation of antibodies, bispecific antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates, CAR T cells, and next generation immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs and CELMoDs). Another research interest is to obtain an increased understanding of mode of action and mechanisms of resistance of immunotherapeutic agents through in vitro analyses combined with immune monitoring studies.

Van de Donk is author or co-author of a number of books and many papers published in peer-reviewed journals. He is also secretary of the HOVON multiple myeloma working party and scientific secretary of the European Myeloma Network. He is serving on the EHA Scientific Program Committee since 2018.