For this collaborative project with industry partner Genmab, we generated and evaluated bispecific antibodies to activate the complement system. I performed molecular and cellular assays the assess antibody capacity for complement activation, cell killing and receptor-induced signaling. During this time, I supervised a technician and multiple internship students.

My PhD research at the Department of Immunology involved work on the complement system and autoantibodies against complement C1q. We isolated specific B cells using FACS, to recombinantly reproduce anti-C1q antibodies, allowing molecular characterization with ELISA, western blot, flow cytometry (both conventional and spectral) and phagocytosis assays.

Internship (7 months) in the Antibody Science cluster at Genmab (Utrecht). During this internship, I investigated the role of the hinge region in antibody-dependent complement activation against cancer cells. I performed cellular assays evaluating complement dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) and different steps in complement activation with various antibody mutants and bispecific antibodies.Grade: 8.5