Ramon Klein Geltink

Assistant Professor

Research Classification

Research Interests

Metabolism
Immunotherapy
Cell Signaling and Infectious and Immune Diseases
Auto-Immune Diseases
Cell Therapy of Cancer
Adoptive cellular therapy
Immunometabolism
T cell function

Relevant Thesis-Based Degree Programs

 
 

Research Methodology

Stable isotope tracing
Seahorse extracellular flux analysis
Targeted and untargeted metabolomics

Recruitment

Master's students
Doctoral students
Any time / year round

My research program at UBC/BCCHRI aims to better understand how the immune system can be used to treat childhood diseases. In children with cancer, the immune system is no longer able to rid the body of cancerous cells. In children with autoimmune diseases the immune system gets rid of healthy cells of the body. We are particularly interested in the metabolism of immune cells. 

Cellular metabolism consists of a complex network of biochemical pathways crucial for energy homeostasis and the generation of biomass to facilitate cell proliferation. In rapidly dividing T cells this is especially demanding, and often associated with ‘Warburg metabolism” or aerobic glycolysis. Regulation of CD8+ T cell fate and function is strongly linked to differences in metabolic reprogramming. The flexibility of T cell metabolism is crucial for activation, differentiation, survival and function in vivo.

We aim to better characterize nutrient-sensing pathways in T cells. We use biochemical and metabolomic techniques to understand what fuel is needed for immune cell function, and how immune cells sense the fuel that is available in their environment.

 

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ADVICE AND INSIGHTS FROM UBC FACULTY ON REACHING OUT TO SUPERVISORS

These videos contain some general advice from faculty across UBC on finding and reaching out to a potential thesis supervisor.

Graduate Student Supervision

Master's Student Supervision

Theses completed in 2010 or later are listed below. Please note that there is a 6-12 month delay to add the latest theses.

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (2023)

No abstract available.

Purine catabolism as a modulator of macrophage activation (2023)

The full abstract for this thesis is available in the body of the thesis, and will be available when the embargo expires.

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Publications

 
 

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