Assistant Professor Luuk Loeff
Luuk obtained his BSc degree in Medical Microbiology from the Leiden University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, followed by an MSc degree (cum laude) in Biomolecular Sciences from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He completed his PhD (cum laude) under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Chirlmin Joo at Delft University of Technology, where he focused on single-molecule studies of CRISPR-Cas enzymes. As a Marie Curie fellow, Luuk joined the lab of Prof. Dr. Martin Jinek at the University of Zurich to investigate novel bacterial immune mechanisms using structural biology and biochemistry. In 2025, he returned to Leiden to establish his own lab in the Department of Cell and Chemical Biology at the Leiden University Medical Center.
2006-2010 BSc Biology & Medical Laboratory Research
Hogeschool Leiden, The Netherlands
2010-2012 MSc Biomolecular Sciences (cum laude)
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2012-2017 PhD in Single-molecule Biophysics (cum laude)
Thesis: Microbial Warfare: Illuminating CRISPR adaptive immunity using single-molecule techniques. Advisor: Prof. Dr. C. Joo
Technische Universiteit Delft, The Netherlands
2017-2018 Postdoctoral Researcher TU Delft
Memory formation of the CRISPR adaptive immune system.
Advisor: Prof. Dr. C. Joo
Technische Universiteit Delft, The Netherlands
2018-2025 Postdoctoral Researcher UZH
Mechanistic dissection of novel prokaryotic host-defense systems using an structural biology approach.
Advisor: Prof. Dr. M. Jinek
Universität Zurich, Switzerland
2025-present Assistant professor
Cell and Chemical Biology Department
Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum
Publications
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DNA end sensing and cleavage by the Shedu anti-phage defense system
L. Loeff#, A. Walter, G. Rosalen & M. Jinek#
Cell, 188, 721–733, 2025
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Molecular mechanism of plasmid elimination by the DdmDE defense system
L. Loeff#, D. Adams, C. Chanez, S. Stutzmann, L. Righi, M. Blokesch & M. Jinek#
Science, 385, pp. 188-194, 2024
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Repetitive DNA reeling by the Cascade-Cas3 complex in nucleotide unwinding steps
L. Loeff, SJJ Brouns, C Joo#
Molecular Cell, 70:1–10, 2018
