Leon Terstappen's Biography

Leon Terstappen, Chair Medical CellBiophysics, MIRA Research Institute for Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, University of Twente

Professor Leon WMM Terstappen, MD, PhD is chair of the department of Medical Cell BioPhysics at the University of Twente, The Netherlands. He received his medical degree from the University of Groningen in 1983 and his PhD in 1988 from the University of Twente. In 1987 he started as post-doctoral fellow at the research department of Becton Dickinson Immunocytometry systems in Mountain View CA, USA and held various research positions thereafter. In 1994 he started as Chief Scientific Officer at Immunicon Corporation, Huntingdon Valley, PA, USA and in 2007 he was appointed at the University of Twente. He is an international recognized expert in cytometry and pioneered the detection of rare cells. He was in charge of the development of the CellSearch system, the only FDA cleared platform to enumerate circulating cancer cells in blood, which was awarded the “Prix Galien”, the major prize for in-vitro diagnostics devices. He currently is the program leader of the STW Perspectief program Cancer-ID and co-leader of the EU IMI program CANCER-ID both programs aim to develop and validate “liquid biopsies” technologies for personalized cancer care. Terstappen is a recipient of the Max Fulwyler Award for Innovative Excellence.