My Research

Susanne Lens (1969) obtained her PhD in 1998 at the University of Amsterdam for her studies on the role of CD27-CD70 interactions in normal and malignant B cell growth, and on the signalling pathways leading to B-cell antigen receptor induced apoptosis. Her PhD research was performed in the lab of René van Lier, at that time situated at the CLB in Amsterdam. After her PhD she joined the lab of Jürg Tschopp in Lausanne, Switzerland to perform her postdoctoral studies on apoptosis inhibitors.

In 2001 she changed research fields to gain expertise in cell cycle biology at the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam in the lab of René Medema, which resulted in her research line on the chromosomal passenger complex and the regulation of chromosome segregation. She was appointed associate professor within the department of Medical Oncology at the UMCU in 2006 and was awarded a full professorship in 2013. Her primary research interests include the molecular mechanisms that ensure error-free chromosome segregation during cell division, and how defects in these mechanisms contribute to chromosomal instability in cancer cells.

Awards

• 2011: Laureate of NWO Innovational Research Incentives Scheme
• 2005: Laureate of NWO Innovational Research Incentives Scheme
• 1999: Fellow of the Dutch Cancer Society

Key Publications

1. Hengeveld, R. C., de Boer, H. R., Schoonen, P. M., de Vries, E. G., Lens, S. M., & van Vugt, M. A. (2015). Rif1 is required for resolution of ultrafine DNA bridges in anaphase to ensure genomic stability. Developmental cell, 34(4), 466-474.
2. Hengeveld, R. C., Hertz, N. T., Vromans, M. J., Zhang, C., Burlingame, A. L., Shokat, K. M., & Lens, S. M. (2012). Development of a chemical genetic approach for human aurora B kinase identifies novel substrates of the chromosomal passenger complex. Molecular & Cellular Proteomics, 11(5), 47-59.
3. Hengeveld, R. C., Vromans, M. J., Vleugel, M., Hadders, M. A., & Lens, S. M. (2017). Inner centromere localization of the CPC maintains centromere cohesion and allows mitotic checkpoint silencing. Nature Communications, 8, 15542.
4. Liu, D., Vader, G., Vromans, M. J., Lampson, M. A., & Lens, S. M. (2009). Sensing chromosome bi-orientation by spatial separation of aurora B kinase from kinetochore substrates. Science, 323(5919), 1350-1353.
5. Meppelink, A., Kabeche, L., Vromans, M. J., Compton, D. A., & Lens, S. M. (2015). Shugoshin-1 balances Aurora B kinase activity via PP2A to promote chromosome bi-orientation. Cell reports, 11(4), 508-515.