Sandra Diebold studied Biology at the Eberhard Karls University in Tübingen, Germany. She worked with Martin Zenke on the generation of gene-modified dendritic cells for tumour immunotherapy, first at the Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna, Austria and then at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) in Berlin, Germany.
As a postdoctoral fellow, Sandra worked at the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute with Caetano Reis e Sousa. Her work there focused on investigating the innate recognition of viruses by dendritic cells via various pattern recognition receptors including the endosomal Toll-like receptors TLR3, TLR7 and TLR9, but also cytoplasmic nucleic acid sensors. Among other projects, Sandra discovered that plasmacytoid dendritic cells sense viral singe-stranded RNA via TLR7 and together with her co-worker Oliver Schulz investigated how the detection of viral double-stranded RNA by TLR3 allows cross-priming dendritic cells to distinguish between virus-infected and uninfected dying cells.
In 2005, Sandra set up her own group in the Immunobiology Department at King’s College London (KCL) funded by a Cancer Research UK Career Development Award. Her group at KCL explored the use of synthetic mimics of viral nucleic acids as adjuvants for tumour immunotherapy. This included the generation and application of antibody-antigen-adjuvant complexes for receptor-targeted co-delivery of antigens and adjuvants to primary dendritic cells in vivo. In addition, her group investigated how to overcome the immunosuppressive effects of the tumour microenvironment, which impair dendritic cell function in the context of ovarian carcinoma.
In 2015, Sandra joined NIBSC as head of the Immunotoxicology Group, which investigates immunotherapeutic antibodies and immunomodulatory reagents and develops in vitro assays for evaluation of their immunotoxicological function. The group also is involved in the generation of in vitro diagnostic material for use as clinical flow cytometry standards. In 2016 Sandra was appointed Section Leader for Cellular Immunology, which also includes the Pyrogen Science Group. In addition, Sandra continues to follow her research interest exploring novel immunotherapeutic approaches for cancer therapy at NIBSC. This includes the investigation of targeted deposition of adjuvants in the tumour tissue in order to overcome local immunosuppression in mouse tumour models.