Full Professor, Ghent Research Group on Nanomedicines, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Ghent University
Belgium
Group Website: www.drugdelivery.be
Koen Raemdonck obtained a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2009 at Ghent University, Belgium. He was a visiting postdoc in the group of Jean-Christophe Leroux (ETH Zürich) in 2015. In 2016, he was appointed as Assistant Professor at the Ghent Research Group on Nanomedicines where he was promoted to Full Professor in 2021. He (co-)authored >100 published items (articles, reviews, proceedings) and is listed as inventor on 8 (pending) patent applications. Since 2011, he has been (co)-promotor of 18 successfully defended PhD theses at Ghent University. Koen is vice-president of the Executive Council of the Controlled Release Society (CRS) BeNeLux and France Local Chapter as well as group leader and Steering Committee member within the Cancer Research Institute Ghent (CRIG). He serves as Editorial Board member of the Journal of Controlled Release. The research of Prof. Raemdonck is mainly focused on exploring novel bio-inspired approaches for delivery of macromolecular therapeutics across intra-and extracellular biological barriers. His expertise includes the design and optimization of nanoformulations for RNA therapeutics and the detailed assessment of their behavior both in extracellular fluids and inside cells. Ongoing projects in the Raemdonck lab include the repurposing of small molecule drugs for cancer immunotherapy, the use of alternative LNP designs for therapeutic cell engineering and the development of novel strategies to promote endosomal escape and intracellular RNA delivery efficiency. At Ghent University he is also leading the Lung Delivery Group, aiming to design novel strategies for inhalation therapy of RNA drugs, for which he was awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant in 2021.
Representative Publications
1. Lu, T., Muntean, C., Sauvage, F., Punj, D., De Keersmaecker, H., Baeke, F., De Rycke, R., Lemeire, K., Tummers, P., Li, W., De Clercq, C., Vanmeerhaeghe, B., Durinck, K., De Wever, O., Remaut, K., Braeckmans, K., De Smedt, S. C., Raemdonck, K. (2026). Converting lysosomes into photothermal organelles enables nanoparticle-free tumor ablation via intracellular vapor bubbles. Sci. Adv., 12(39), eaeh0675.
2. Harinck, L., De Munter, S., De Velder, M., Ingels, J., Berdecka, D., Lentacker, I., De Vos, W. H., Vandekerckhove, B., Braeckmans, K., Raemdonck, K. (2026). Cationic mRNA Lipid Nanoparticles for Ex Vivo NanoCAR-T Cell Engineering. Adv. Sci., 13(24), e21507.
3. Herman, L., Guagliardo, R., Zamborlin, A., Liu, Q., Pérez-Gil, J., De Smedt, S. C., Raemdonck, K. (2025). Surfactant protein B-derived peptides as endosomal escape enhancers for pulmonary delivery of siRNA. J. Controlled Release, 381, 113571.
4. Bogaert, B., Sauvage, F., Guagliardo, R., Muntean, C., Nguyen, V. P., Pottie, E., Wels, M., Minnaert, A. K., De Rycke, R., Yang, Q., Peer, D., Sanders, N., Remaut, K., Paulus, Y. M., Stove, C., De Smedt, S. C., Raemdonck, K. (2022). A lipid nanoparticle platform for mRNA delivery through repurposing of cationic amphiphilic drugs. J. Controlled Release, 350, 256–270.
5. Van Hoeck, J., Van de Vyver, T., Harizaj, A., Goetgeluk, G., Merckx, P., Liu, J., Wels, M., Sauvage, F., De Keersmaecker, H., Vanhove, C., de Jong, O. G., Vader, P., Dewitte, H., Vandekerckhove, B., Braeckmans, K., De Smedt, S. C., & Raemdonck, K. (2021). Hydrogel-Induced Cell Membrane Disruptions Enable Direct Cytosolic Delivery of Membrane-Impermeable Cargo. Adv. Mater., 33(30), e2008054.
