Sébastien Wälchli

  • Senior Scientist; PhD
  • +47 22 78 13 16

Group leader

Education:

2016

Present

Senior scientist (group leader-OUS leader training 2019)

Section for Cellular Therapy, Radiumhospitalet, Oslo

2013

2016

Senior scientist (project leader)

Sections for Cancer Immunology and Cellular Therapy, Radiumhospitalet, Oslo

2007

2013

Scientist

Dept of Immunology, IKF, Radiumhospitalet, Oslo

2003

2007

Postdoc

Dept of Biochemistry, IKF, Radiumhospitalet, Oslo

2002

2003

Visiting scientist

Medical school of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

1998

2002

PhD student

Serono Pharmaceutical Research Institute (Hooft), Geneva, Switzerland

 

Research interests/projects:

SW co-leads the translational research lab at the section for Cellular therapy, OUS, a newly established pre-clinical entity directly connected to the immunomonitoring unit. SW leads the molecular biology of the T-cell receptor (TCR) and the Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) development platforms.

The TCR platform has led to the filling of numerous patents, the establishment of a biotech (Zelluna Immuntherapy AS, 2016) and the first TCR tested in human in Norway (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03431311).

The CAR platform has completed the pre-clinical development of 2 candidates and is working on around 15 new constructs, most of them directed against solid tumours.

Advanced universal therapeutic solutions are also in our pipeline (3 patents), and different innovative tools in the immunotherapeutic field (vaccination, effector cell improvement, etc.).

More info here: www.linkedin.com/in/sebastw

 

Awards

  • OvaCure Award at the OvaCure Innovation Challenge 2020
  • Inven2 Innovation award 2014: "A universal killer-T cell for personalized medicine"
  • Top poster Award at CIMT (Association of Cancer Immunotherapy) in Mainz (Germany) 2012: "It takes two to tango: MHC-I and Invariant chain in harmony"
  • Inven2 Innovation award 2011: "A novel method to produce soluble TcR"
 

Publications 2021

Caulier B, Enserink JM, Walchli S (2021)
Pharmacologic Control of CAR T Cells
Int. J. Mol. Sci., 22 (9), 4320
DOI 10.3390/ijms22094320

Dillard P, Casey N, Pollmann S, Vernhoff P, Gaudernack G, Kvalheim G, Walchli S, Inderberg EM (2021)
Targeting KRAS mutations with HLA class II-restricted TCRs for the treatment of solid tumors
OncoImmunology, 10 (1), 1936757
DOI 10.1080/2162402X.2021.1936757

Dillard P, Koksal H, Maggadottir SM, Winge-Main A, Pollmann S, Menard M, Myhre MR, Maelandsmo GM, Florenes VA, Gaudernack G, Kvalheim G, Walchli S, Inderberg EM (2021)
Targeting Telomerase with an HLA Class II-Restricted TCR for Cancer Immunotherapy
Mol. Ther., 29 (3), 1199-1213
DOI 10.1016/j.ymthe.2020.11.019

Ito J, Minemura T, Walchli S, Niimi T, Fujihara Y, Kuroda S, Takimoto K, Maturana AD (2021)
Id2 Represses Aldosterone-Stimulated Cardiac T-Type Calcium Channels Expression
Int. J. Mol. Sci., 22 (7), 3561
DOI 10.3390/ijms22073561

Koksal H, Dillard P, Juzeniene A, Kvalheim G, Smeland EB, Myklebust JH, Inderberg EM, Walchli S (2021)
Combinatorial CAR design improves target restriction
J. Biol. Chem., 296, 100116
DOI 10.1074/jbc.RA120.016234

Mensali N, Dillard P, Fayzullin A, Koksal H, Gaudernack G, Kvalheim G, Inderberg EM, Walchli S (2021)
"Built-in" PD-1 blocker to rescue NK-92 activity from PD-L1-mediated tumor escape mechanisms
Faseb J., 35 (9), e21750
DOI 10.1096/fj.202100025R

Vestre K, Persiconi I, Distefano MB, Mensali N, Guadagno NA, Bretou M, Walchli S, Arnold-Schrauf C, Bakke O, Dalod M, Lennon-Dumenil AM, Progida C (2021)
Rab7b regulates dendritic cell migration by linking lysosomes to the actomyosin cytoskeleton
J. Cell Sci., 134 (18), jcs259221
DOI 10.1242/jcs.259221

Publications 2020

Benard E, Casey NP, Inderberg EM, Walchli S (2020)
SJI 2020 special issue: A catalogue of Ovarian Cancer targets for CAR therapy
Scand. J. Immunol., 92 (4), e12917
DOI 10.1111/sji.12917

Dillard P, Lie M, Baken E, Lobert VH, Benard E, Koksal H, Inderberg EM, Walchli S (2020)
Colorectal cysts as a validating tool for CAR therapy
BMC Biotechnol., 20 (1), 30
DOI 10.1186/s12896-020-00623-0

Inderberg EM, Walchli S (2020)
Sympathetic improvement of cancer vaccine efficacy
Human Vaccines Immunother., 16 (8), 1888-1890
DOI 10.1080/21645515.2019.1703456

Inderberg EM, Walchli S (2020)
Long-term surviving cancer patients as a source of therapeutic TCR
Cancer Immunol. Immunother., 69 (5), 859-865
DOI 10.1007/s00262-019-02468-9

Mensali N, Myhre MR, Dillard P, Pollmann S, Gaudernack G, Kvalheim G, Walchli S, Inderberg EM (2020)
Preclinical assessment of transiently TCR redirected T cells for solid tumour immunotherapy (vol 68, pg 1235, 2019)
Cancer Immunol. Immunother., 69 (1), 159-161
DOI 10.1007/s00262-019-02409-6

Winge-Main AK, Walchli S, Inderberg EM (2020)
T cell receptor therapy against melanoma-Immunotherapy for the future?
Scand. J. Immunol., 92 (4), e12927
DOI 10.1111/sji.12927

Publications 2019

Josefsson SE, Beiske K, Blaker YN, Forsund MS, Holte H, Ostenstad B, Kimby E, Koksal H, Walchli S, Bai BY, Smeland EB, Levy R, Kolstad A, Huse K, Myklebust JH (2019)
TIGIT and PD-1 Mark Intratumoral T Cells with Reduced Effector Function in B-cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
Cancer Immunol. Res., 7 (3), 355-362
DOI 10.1158/2326-6066.CIR-18-0351

Koksal H, Dillard P, Josefsson SE, Maggadottir SM, Pollmann S, Fane A, Blaker YN, Beiske K, Huse K, Kolstad A, Holte H, Kvalheim G, Smeland EB, Myklebust JH, Inderberg EM, Walchli S (2019)
Preclinical development of CD37CAR T-cell therapy for treatment of B-cell lymphoma
Blood Adv., 3 (8), 1230-1243
DOI 10.1182/bloodadvances.2018029678

Koksal H, Muller E, Inderberg EM, Bruland O, Walchli S (2019)
Treating osteosarcoma with CAR T cells
Scand. J. Immunol., 89 (3), e12741
DOI 10.1111/sji.12741

Mensali N, Dillard P, Hebeisen M, Lorenz S, Theodossiou T, Myhre MR, Fane A, Gaudernack G, Kvalheim G, Myklebust JH, Inderberg EM, Walchli S (2019)
NK cells specifically TCR-dressed to kill cancer cells
EBioMedicine, 40, 106-117
DOI 10.1016/j.ebiom.2019.01.031

Mensali N, Grenov A, Pati NB, Dillard P, Myhre MR, Gaudernack G, Kvalheim G, Inderberg EM, Bakke O, Walchli S (2019)
Antigen-delivery through invariant chain (CD74) boosts CD8 and CD4 T cell immunity
OncoImmunology, 8 (3), e1558663
DOI 10.1080/2162402X.2018.1558663

Mensali N, Myhre MR, Dillard P, Pollmann S, Gaudernack G, Kvalheim G, Walchli S, Inderberg EM (2019)
Preclinical assessment of transiently TCR redirected T cells for solid tumour immunotherapy
Cancer Immunol. Immunother., 68 (8), 1235-1243
DOI 10.1007/s00262-019-02356-2

Theodossiou TA, Ali M, Grigalavicius M, Grallert B, Dillard P, Schink KO, Olsen CE, Walchli S, Inderberg EM, Kubin A, Peng Q, Berg K (2019)
Simultaneous defeat of MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 resistances by a hypericin PDT-tamoxifen hybrid therapy
npj Breast Cancer, 5, 13
DOI 10.1038/s41523-019-0108-8

Publications 2018

Dillard P, Koksal H, Inderberg EM, Walchli S (2018)
A Spheroid Killing Assay by CAR T Cells
J. Vis. Exp. (142), e58785
DOI 10.3791/58785

Vatsveen TK, Myhre MR, Steen CB, Walchli S, Lingjaerde OC, Bai BY, Dillard P, Theodossiou TA, Holien T, Sundan A, Inderberg EM, Smeland EB, Myklebust JH, Oksvold MP (2018)
Artesunate shows potent anti-tumor activity in B-cell lymphoma
J. Hematol. Oncol., 11, 23
DOI 10.1186/s13045-018-0561-0

Publications 2017

Bollum LK, Huse K, Oksvold MP, Bai BY, Hilden VI, Forfang L, Yoon SO, Walchli S, Smeland EB, Myklebust JH (2017)
BMP-7 induces apoptosis in human germinal center B cells and is influenced by TGF-beta receptor type I ALK5
PLoS One, 12 (5), e0177188
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0177188

Koksal H, Walchli S (2017)
Fishing therapeutic T-cell receptors in healthy donor blood, is safety predictable?
Transl. Cancer Res., 6 3, S622-S624
DOI 10.21037/tcr.2017.05.25

Myklebust JH, Brody J, Kohrt HE, Kolstad A, Czerwinski DK, Walchli S, Green MR, Troen G, Liestol K, Beiske K, Houot R, Delabie J, Alizadeh AA, Irish JM, Levy R (2017)
Distinct patterns of B-cell receptor signaling in non-Hodgkin lymphomas identified by single-cell profiling
Blood, 129 (6), 759-770
DOI 10.1182/blood-2016-05-718494

Waiseng E, Koksal H, Sektioglu IM, Fane A, Skorstad G, Kvalheim G, Gaudernack G, Inderberg EM, Walchli S (2017)
A TCR-based Chimeric Antigen Receptor
Sci Rep, 7, 10713
DOI 10.1038/s41598-017-11126-y

Publications 2016

Belnoue E, Di Berardino-Besson W, Gaertner H, Carboni S, Dunand-Sauthier I, Cerini F, Suso-Inderberg EM, Walchli S, Konig S, Salazar AM, Hartley O, Dietrich PY, Walker PR, Derouazi M (2016)
Enhancing Antitumor Immune Responses by Optimized Combinations of Cell-penetrating Peptide-based Vaccines and Adjuvants
Mol. Ther., 24 (9), 1675-1685
DOI 10.1038/mt.2016.134

Kyte JA, Gaudernack G, Faane A, Lislerud K, Inderberg EM, Brunsvig P, Aamdal S, Kvalheim G, Walchli S, Pule M (2016)
T-helper cell receptors from long-term survivors after telomerase cancer vaccination for use in adoptive cell therapy
OncoImmunology, 5 (12), e1249090
DOI 10.1080/2162402X.2016.1249090

Mensali N, Ying F, Sheng VOY, Yang WW, Walseng E, Kumari S, Fallang LE, Kolstad A, Uckert W, Malmberg KJ, Walchli S, Olweus J (2016)
Targeting B-cell neoplasia with T-cell receptors recognizing a CD20-derived peptide on patient-specific HLA
OncoImmunology, 5 (5), e1138199
DOI 10.1080/2162402X.2016.1138199

Theodossiou TA, Walchli S, Olsen CE, Skarpen E, Berg K (2016)
Deciphering the Nongenomic, Mitochondrial Toxicity of Tamoxifens As Determined by Cell Metabolism and Redox Activity
ACS Chem. Biol., 11 (1), 251-262
DOI 10.1021/acschembio.5b00734

Publications 2015

Tadesse FG, Mensali N, Fallang LE, Walseng E, Yang WW, Olweus J, Walchli S (2015)
Unpredicted phenotypes of two mutants of the TcR DMF5
J. Immunol. Methods, 425, 37-44
DOI 10.1016/j.jim.2015.06.006

Walseng E, Walchli S, Fallang LE, Yang WW, Vefferstad A, Areffard A, Olweus J (2015)
Soluble T-Cell Receptors Produced in Human Cells for Targeted Delivery
PLoS One, 10 (4), e0119559
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0119559

Publications 2014

Kumari S, Walchli S, Fallang LE, Yang WW, Lund-Johansen F, Schumacher TN, Olweus J (2014)
Alloreactive cytotoxic T cells provide means to decipher the immunopeptidome and reveal a plethora of tumor-associated self-epitopes
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A., 111 (1), 403-408
DOI 10.1073/pnas.1306549111

Walchli S, Kumari S, Fallang LE, Sand KMK, Yang WW, Landsverk OJB, Bakke O, Olweus J, Gregers TF (2014)
Invariant chain as a vehicle to load antigenic peptides on human MHC class I for cytotoxic T-cell activation
Eur. J. Immunol., 44 (3), 774-784
DOI 10.1002/eji.201343671

Publications 2013

Gregers TF, Skanland SS, Walchli S, Bakke O, Sandvig K (2013)
BiP Negatively Affects Ricin Transport
Toxins, 5 (5), 969-982
DOI 10.3390/toxins5050969

Publications 2012

Abrahamsen IW, Kjellevoll S, Greve-Isdahl M, Mensali N, Walchli S, Kumari S, Loland BF, Egeland T, Kolstad A, Olweus J (2012)
T cells raised against allogeneic HLA-A2/CD20 kill primary follicular lymphoma and acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells
Int. J. Cancer, 130 (8), 1821-1832
DOI 10.1002/ijc.26209

Huse K, Bakkebo M, Walchli S, Oksvold MP, Hilden VI, Forfang L, Bredahl ML, Liestol K, Alizadeh AA, Smeland EB, Myklebust JH (2012)
Role of Smad Proteins in Resistance to BMP-Induced Growth Inhibition in B-Cell Lymphoma
PLoS One, 7 (10), e46117
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0046117

Publications 2011

Almasbak H, Rian E, Hoel HJ, Pule M, Walchli S, Kvalheim G, Gaudernack G, Rasmussen AM (2011)
Transiently redirected T cells for adoptive transfer
Cytotherapy, 13 (5), 629-640
DOI 10.3109/14653249.2010.542461

Publications 2010

Abrahamsen IW, Stronen E, Walchli S, Johansen JN, Kjellevoll S, Kumari S, Komada M, Gaudernack G, Tjonnfjord G, Toebes M, Schumacher TN, Lund-Johansen F, Olweus J (2010)
Targeting B cell leukemia with highly specific allogeneic T cells with a public recognition motif
Leukemia, 24 (11), 1901-1909
DOI 10.1038/leu.2010.186

Yamazaki T, Walchli S, Fujita T, Ryser S, Hoshijima M, Schlegel W, Kuroda S, Maturana AD (2010)
Splice variants of Enigma homolog, differentially expressed during heart development, promote or prevent hypertrophy
Cardiovasc. Res., 86 (3), 374-382
DOI 10.1093/cvr/cvq023

Publications 2009

Nygren MK, Dosen-Dahl G, Stubberud H, Walchli S, Munthe E, Rian E (2009)
beta-catenin is involved in N-cadherin-dependent adhesion, but not in canonical Wnt signaling in E2A-PBX1-positive B acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells
Exp. Hematol., 37 (2), 225-233
DOI 10.1016/j.exphem.2008.10.007

Raa H, Grimmer S, Schwudke D, Bergan J, Walchli S, Skotland T, Shevchenko A, Sandvig K (2009)
Glycosphingolipid Requirements for Endosome-to-Golgi Transport of Shiga Toxin
Traffic, 10 (7), 868-882
DOI 10.1111/j.1600-0854.2009.00919.x

Skanland SS, Walchli S, Brech A, Sandvig K (2009)
SNX4 in Complex with Clathrin and Dynein: Implications for Endosome Movement
PLoS One, 4 (6), e5935
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0005935

Skanland SS, Walchli S, Sandvig K (2009)
beta-arrestins attenuate p38-mediated endosome to Golgi transport
Cell Microbiol., 11 (5), 796-807
DOI 10.1111/j.1462-5822.2009.01292.x

Stronen E, Abrahamsen IW, Gaudernack G, WAlchli S, Munthe E, Buus S, Johansen FE, Lund-Johansen F, Olweus J (2009)
Dendritic Cells Engineered to Express Defined Allo-HLA Peptide Complexes Induce Antigen-specific Cytotoxic T Cells Efficiently Killing Tumour Cells
Scand. J. Immunol., 69 (4), 319-328
DOI 10.1111/j.1365-3083.2008.02223.x

Walchli S, Aasheim HC, Skanland SS, Spilsberg B, Torgersen ML, Rosendal KR, Sandvig K (2009)
Characterization of clathrin and Syk interaction upon Shiga toxin binding
Cell. Signal., 21 (7), 1161-1168
DOI 10.1016/j.cellsig.2009.03.005

Publications 2008

Sorensen V, Zhen Y, Zakrzewska M, Haugsten EM, Walchli S, Nilsen T, Olsnes S, Wiedlocha A (2008)
Phosphorylation of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptor 1 at Ser777 by p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase regulates translocation of exogenous FGF1 to the cytosol and nucleus
Mol. Cell. Biol., 28 (12), 4129-4141
DOI 10.1128/MCB.02117-07

Walchli S, Sioud M (2008)
Vector-based delivery of siRNAs: In vitro and in vivo challenges
Front. Biosci., 13, 3488-3493

Walchli S, Skanland SS, Gregers TF, Lauvrak SU, Torgersen ML, Ying M, Kuroda S, Maturana A, Sandvig K (2008)
The mitogen-activated protein kinase p38 links Shiga toxin-dependent signaling and trafficking
Mol. Biol. Cell, 19 (1), 95-104
DOI 10.1091/mbc.E07-06-0565

Publications 2007

Skanland SS, Walchli S, Utskarpen A, Wandinger-Ness A, Sandvig K (2007)
Phosphoinositide-regulated retrograde transport of ricin: Crosstalk between hVps34 and sorting nexins
Traffic, 8 (3), 297-309
DOI 10.1111/j.1600-0854.2006.00527.x

Torgersen ML, Walchli S, Grimmer S, Skanland SS, Sandvig K (2007)
Protein kinase C delta is activated by Shiga toxin and regulates its transport
J. Biol. Chem., 282 (22), 16317-16328
DOI 10.1074/jbc.M610886200

Publications 2006

Bache KG, Stuffers S, Malerod L, Slagsvold T, Raiborg C, Lechardeur D, Walchli S, Lukacs GL, Brech A, Stenmark H (2006)
The ESCRT-III subunit hVps24 is required for degradation but not silencing of the epidermal growth factor receptor
Mol. Biol. Cell, 17 (6), 2513-2523
DOI 10.1091/mbc.E05-10-0915

Lauvrak SU, Walchli S, Iversen TG, Slagsvold HH, Torgersen ML, Spilsberg B, Sandvig K (2006)
Shiga toxin regulates its entry in a syk-dependent manner
Mol. Biol. Cell, 17 (3), 1096-1109
DOI 10.1091/mbc.E05-08-0766

Slominska-Wojewodzka M, Gregers TF, Walchli S, Sandvig K (2006)
EDEM is involved in retrotranslocation of ricin from the endoplasmic reticulum to the cytosol
Mol. Biol. Cell, 17 (4), 1664-1675
DOI 10.1091/mbc.E05-10-0961

Utskarpen A, Slagsvold HH, Iversen TG, Walchli S, Sandvig K (2006)
Transport of ricin from endosomes to the Golgi apparatus is regulated by Rab6A and Rab6A '
Traffic, 7 (6), 663-672
DOI 10.1111/j.1600-0854.2006.00418.x

Publications 2005

Grimmer S, Ying M, Walchli S, van Deurs B, Sandvig K (2005)
Golgi vesiculation induced by cholesterol occurs by a dynamin- and cPLA(2)-dependent mechanism
Traffic, 6 (2), 144-156
DOI 10.1111/j.1600-0854.2005.00258.x

Hetz C, Russelakis-Carneiro M, Walchli S, Carboni S, Vial-Knecht E, Maundrell K, Castilla J, Soto C (2005)
The disulfide isomerase Grp58 is a protective factor against prion neurotoxicity
J. Neurosci., 25 (11), 2793-2802
DOI 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4090-04.2005

Spilsberg B, Sandvig K, Walchli S (2005)
Reconstitution of active diphtheria toxin based on a hexahistidine tagged version of the B-fragment produced to high yields in bacteria
Toxicon, 46 (8), 900-906
DOI 10.1016/j.toxicon.2005.08.015