Ton J. Rabelink (NL)

Invited Speaker

Professor of Internal Medicine and Nephrologist · Leiden Node Director of the Novo Nordisk Foundation for Stem Cell Medicine · Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) · Leiden

Ton J. Rabelink
Biography Click to expand

Ton Rabelink is Professor of Internal Medicine and Nephrologist at the LUMC. Here, he also heads the department of Internal Medicine. He is Leiden Node Director of the Novo Nordisk Foundation for Stem Cell Medicine, reNEW and figurehead of the theme Regenerative Medicine within the Dutch National Science Agenda. In addition, he’s CSO and co-founder of the LUMC affiliate NecstGen - a non-for-profit Good Manufacturing Practice facility for cell and gene therapy based at Leiden Bio Science Park. Rabelink is co-founder and was kidney-moonshot leader of the public private regenerative medicine consortium RegMedXB, and Chair of the LUMC and Leiden University for the theme Regenerative Medicine. He led the EU Horizon consortium STELLAR, which aimed at developing cellular therapies for kidney disease. In 2024 he was awarded an ERC advanced grant (SPARK) to study the fundamental mechanisms of kidney regeneration.

Towards Transplantable Organs: Vascularized Kidney Organoids for Renal Regeneration Click to watch
Ton J. Rabelink (Guest Speaker), Macey L. Levan (TTS Social Media Editor)
In this interview, Professor Ton J. Rabelink (Leiden University Medical Center) discusses the future of regenerative medicine and the exciting progress toward transplantable organs through vascularized kidney organoids.

Professor Rabelink was interviewed by Macey Levan, Social Media Editor for the Transplantation journals, as part of our featured speaker series leading up to The Transplantation Society (TTS) 2026 International Congress in Sydney.

The conversation explores how advances in stem cell biology, organoid engineering, and regenerative medicine are reshaping the future of kidney disease treatment and transplantation. Professor Rabelink also shares insights into the challenges that remain before bioengineered tissues can be translated into clinical therapies.

📍 Session: Plenary – Towards transplantable organs: Vascularized kidney organoids for renal regeneration

🔬 Topics discussed:
• Kidney organoids and regenerative medicine
• Vascularization and functional organ development
• Translational pathways from laboratory to clinic
• The future of organ replacement therapies

Programme roles

Monday, September 21, 2026

Room C4.8
Invited Speaker Concurrent Basic and Translational Science
The -omic era in allograft pathology
Lecture What metabolic interactions drives fibrosis and repair in organ transplantation?

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

Darling Harbour
Invited Speaker Plenary Session
Plenary Session 3
Lecture Towards transplantable organs: Organoids as a future source for kidney transplantation