Hugo Horlings

I am a Dutch-certified anatomic pathologist (medical staff at Antoni van Leeuwenhoek - AVL) and clinical leader of the Computational Pathology research group at The Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI). After my medical degree, I pursued a PhD (NKI, 2005-2011) under the supervision o Prof. M. J. van de Vijver, focusing on refining breast cancer classification through genetic and gene expression analysis. In the meantime, I initiated my pathology training at Amsterdam UMC (AUMC, 2009-2014). After my residency, I was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship by the Dutch Cancer Society (NKI, 2014-2018). This fellowship unlocked avenues to explore "Molecular Biomarkers to Refine the Diagnosis and Treatment of Breast and Ovarian Carcinomas." Moreover, it provided a unique opportunity for a year-long collaborative endeavour with Prof. D. Huntsman at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, Canada and a three-month experience at Stanford University, California, USA, collaborating with Prof. H. Chang, Prof. R. West, Prof. C. Curtis and Dr. M. Angelo in breast cancer immunology. 

My areas of expertise include molecular diagnostics of breast and ovarian cancer and computational pathology. A key component of our research includes integrating molecular analysis with deep learning algorithms to assess spatial interactions among tumour and immune cells, to improve personalised immunotherapy. 

My research aims to bridge the gap between academic research, clinical practice, and technological innovation using collaborative approaches combining AI and medical expertise. I strive to enhance societal engagement in understanding cancer through my work, promoting a mental shift towards more informed and collaborative healthcare practices.

In the past years, I have participated as an invited speaker at several international events, such as the European Breast Cancer Conference (EBBC) and the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP) congress. Moreover, I am a member of various international bodies like the International Immuno-Oncology Biomarker Working Group on Breast Cancer, the WHO Classification of tumours - Breast Cancer, the European Digital Pathology Platform and The AACR Project GENIE consortium. I am also involved in the Oncology Graduate School Amsterdam (OOA), where I take part in the Experimental Oncology course every year.