Dr. Wolkers did her PhD in Ton Schumacher’s lab. After her postdoctoral training with Stephen Schoenberger (La Jolla Institute), Douglas Green (St. Jude’s Memphis), and Jan-Paul Medema (AmsterdamUMC-AMC), Dr. Wolkers started her group in 2010 at Sanquin Research, Amsterdam. Since then, she is fascinated by the molecular mechanisms that dictate CD8 T-cell effector function. Her group showed for instance that post-transcriptional mechanisms define the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and define their capacity to kill tumors and infected cells. Furthermore, her group uncovered surface markers that can distinguish cytotoxic from non-cytotoxic T cells, a tool that may be important for the development of effective T-cell therapies. Monika holds an ERC consolidator grant and is an Oncode Investigator.