Brief outline of research activities. Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is of crucial importance in the immune system and in cancer. The group of Eric Eldering at the Dept of Experimental Immunology has studied apoptosis regulation in normal and pathological immune cells since 2002. We have expanded these research lines to include wider fundamental and translational aspects in Immuno-Hematology. We study human and (genetically modified) murine tissues in two themes of research. THEME 1. Hemato-oncological work on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL), in close collaboration with hematologist professor Arnon Kater. We study three interrelated areas: a) CLL genetics and molecular diagnostics b) The leukemic microenvironment and novel drugs c) Interaction between the immune system and CLL THEME 2 Shaping the immune response. We have demonstrated that upon antigen triggering, Bcl-2 members Noxa and Mcl-1 control outgrowth of high affinity lymphocytes as well as clonal diversity. We uncovered a novel role for Noxa in Darwininan selection of the fittest antigen-responsive clones from the naive lymphocyte pool. Currently our research has shifted towards Immunometabolism; we focus on the intrinsic metabolic changes in CLL as well as the impact of malignant cells on (CAR) T cell function and metabolism.