Personal profile
Biography
Dr. Willem (Joost) Lesterhuis is an NHMRC EL2 Investigator, a Simon Lee Fellow and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Western Australia. Dr Lesterhuis is Program Head Cancer Reseach at the Telethon Kids Institute, where he leads the Sarcoma Translational Research team. He has a background as a dual-trained medical oncologist and basic researcher in tumour immunology and cancer biology.
Dr Lesterhuis' research sits at the crossroads of tumour immunology, cancer biology, drug discovery and systems biology, with a particular focus on sarcoma.
Research
Current research projects include:
- Developing local immunotherapeutic approaches to treat sarcoma
- Unravelling the cellular and molecular processes that govern successful immunotherapy-induced cancer regression
- Combining chemotherapy and immunotherapy to treat cancer
Industry keywords
- Drug Discovery
- Medicine and Pharma
Research expertise keywords
- Cancer immunology
- Immunotherapy
- Drug development
- Biomarkers
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
-
SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
Fingerprint
- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
-
Comparative analysis of malignant pleural effusion and peripheral blood reveals unique T cell signatures associated with survival in mesothelioma patients
Principe, N., Stevens, K. L. P., Phung, A. L., McCoy, M., Kidman, J., Ismail, A., Cook, A. M., Chopra, A., Watson, M., Robinson, B. W., Creaney, J., Lee, Y. C. G., Waithman, J., Lesterhuis, W. J., Lake, R. A., Nowak, A. K., Chee, J. & McDonnell, A. M., 2026, In: Oxford Open Immunology. 7, 1, 14 p., iqaf008.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Mesothelioma location influences the tumour microenvironment and immune checkpoint therapy response in preclinical models
Orozco Morales, M. L., Lansley, S. M., Chin, W. L., Tilsed, C. M., Principe, N., Leslie, C., Vitali, B. J., Rwandamuriye, F. X., de Jong, E., Kidman, J., Zemek, R. M., Rinaldi, C. A., Lassmann, T., Bosco, A., Lee, Y. C. G., Lake, R. A., Chee, J. & Lesterhuis, W. J., Feb 2026, In: Scientific Reports. 16, 1, p. 1-14 14 p., 10473.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
A New Era for PPARγ: Covalent Ligands and Therapeutic Applications
King, J. L., Smithers, L., Vrielink, A., Lesterhuis, W. J. & Piggott, M. J., 27 Nov 2025, In: Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 68, 22, p. 23705-23750 46 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
1 Link opens in a new tab Citation (Scopus) -
Coupling of response biomarkers between tumor and peripheral blood in patients undergoing chemoimmunotherapy
Chin, W. L., Cook, A. M., Chee, J., Principe, N., Hoang, T. S., Kidman, J., Hmon, K. P. W., Yeow, Y., Jones, M. E., Hou, R., Denisenko, E., McDonnell, A. M., Hon, C. C., Moody, J., Anderson, D., Yip, S., Cummins, M. M., Stockler, M. R., Kok, P. S. & Brown, C. & 10 others, , 21 Jan 2025, In: Cell Reports Medicine. 6, 1, p. 1-18 18 p., 101882.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access8 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus) -
Anti-metabolite chemotherapy increases LAG-3 expressing tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes which can be targeted by combination immune checkpoint blockade
Principe, N., Phung, A. L., Stevens, K. L. P., Elaskalani, O., Wylie, B., Tilsed, C. M., Sheikh, F., Orozco Morales, M. L., Kidman, J., Marcq, E., Fisher, S. A., Nowak, A. K., McDonnell, A. M., Lesterhuis, W. J. & Chee, J., 28 Sept 2024, In: Journal for immunotherapy of cancer. 12, 9, 15 p., e008568.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile11 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus)65 Downloads (Pure)
-
Discovering and developing the next generation of cancer immunotherapies
Lesterhuis, W. (Investigator 01)
1/01/26 → 31/12/29
Project: Research
-
Small molecule drug in immuno-oncology
Lesterhuis, W. (Investigator 01) & Piggott, M. (Investigator 02)
Setonix Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd
1/07/22 → 31/05/26
Project: Research
-
Core infrastructure: high-throughput nanodrop spectrophotometer
Kretzmann, J. (Investigator 01), Evans, C. (Investigator 02), Choi, Y. S. (Investigator 03), Waryah, C. (Investigator 04), Sarkar-Tyson, M. (Investigator 05), Wang, T. (Investigator 06), Bond, C. (Investigator 07), Vrielink, A. (Investigator 08), Smith, N. (Investigator 09), Lesterhuis, W. (Investigator 10), Marshall, A. (Investigator 11), Stubbs, K. (Investigator 12), Deane, K. (Investigator 13), Chen, K. (Investigator 14), Smithers, L. (Investigator 15), Wylie, B. (Investigator 16), Wang, E. (Investigator 17) & Blancafort, P. (Investigator 18)
NHMRC National Health and Medical Research Council
15/03/24 → 31/12/24
Project: Research
-
Paediatric Cancer Immunotherapy for Australia
Lesterhuis, W. (Investigator 01), Gottardo, N. (Investigator 02), Endersby, R. (Investigator 03), Kotecha, R. (Investigator 04), Cheung, L. (Investigator 05), Malinge, S. (Investigator 06), McDonnell, A. (Investigator 07) & Elaskalani, O. (Investigator 08)
Australian Lions Childhood Cancer Research Foundation (ALCCRF)
1/07/23 → 30/06/25
Project: Research
-
Multifuge X4R refrigerated centrifuge
Bond, C. (Investigator 01), Vrielink, A. (Investigator 02), Fox, A. (Investigator 03), Stubbs, K. (Investigator 04), Kahler, C. (Investigator 05), Smith, N. (Investigator 06), Kretzmann, J. (Investigator 07), Evans, C. (Investigator 08), Marshall, A. (Investigator 09), Smithers, L. (Investigator 10), Debowski, A. (Investigator 11), Bzdyl, N. (Investigator 12), Chooi, H. (Investigator 13), Fritz, G. (Investigator 14), Small, I. (Investigator 15), Lesterhuis, W. (Investigator 16), Piggott, M. (Investigator 17) & Sarkar-Tyson, M. (Investigator 18)
NHMRC National Health and Medical Research Council
31/03/23 → 31/10/24
Project: Research