Ewoud B. Compeer

I’m Ewoud B. Compeer, an immunologist working at the intersection of immune cell biology and therapeutic innovation. I study how immune cells organise, communicate and function, and how these mechanisms can inform the design of living medicines.

 

My ambition is to establish Reconstructive Immunotherapy: a research programme that brings selective disease elimination, tissue repair and durable immune regulation into one therapeutic strategy.

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From cellular mechanisms to living therapies

 

My research connects antigen presentation and endosomal remodelling with T-cell receptor trafficking, immune synapses and metabolic control of immunity. First-author work identified a mobile endocytic network that supports T-cell activation, building on studies of antigen cross-presentation in human dendritic cells.

 

Collaborative studies extend this work to T-cell fitness, extracellular-vesicle imaging, regulatory T-cell metabolism and cytotoxic supramolecular attack particles. Recent research examines how lipids in ovarian cancer ascites disrupt TCR dynamics and impair T-cell activation.

 

Together, these studies connect the organisation of an immune cell with its ability to act within a diseased tissue.

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A programme with three connected goals

 

ELIMINATE PATHOLOGY
Identify and selectively target the cells and interactions that sustain pathological tissue environments.

 

ENABLE RECONSTRUCTION
Combine disease control with signals that engage endogenous repair and support the recovery of tissue organisation and function.

 

SUSTAIN HOMEOSTASIS
Establish tissue-appropriate immune regulation and surveillance to help maintain health over time.

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CyTrex: connecting regulation and effector function

 

My work on CD8 regulatory T cells provides a foundation for investigating multifunctional immune therapies. Our 2026 preprint reports human CD8 induced regulatory T cells with both GVHD-suppressive and tumouricidal functions, involving granzyme-K-positive supramolecular attack particles.

 

This emerging work motivates a broader question: how can therapeutic immune cells combine precise effector activity with immune regulation and support for tissue recovery? The preprint has not yet been peer reviewed, and tissue reconstruction remains an objective for the proposed programme.

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Cardiovascular disease as a starting point

 

My proposed flagship programme focuses on the cellular networks that sustain vascular pathology. It would connect spatial and single-cell analysis with immune engineering to identify disease-maintaining niches and investigate selective interventions alongside endothelial repair, stromal organisation and durable immune balance.

 

Success would be assessed through recovery of tissue architecture and physiological function, alongside measures of disease burden.

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Building the field together

 

Reconstructive Immunotherapy calls for collaboration across immunology, cardiovascular biology, regenerative medicine, spatial biology and bioengineering. I welcome conversations with researchers, clinicians and industry partners who share the ambition to develop living therapies that restore tissue health.

 

Explore my publications  ·  About my research  ·  Discuss a collaboration