RELENT - Key Persons
Aswin Jansen, BSc, research technician, has a background in molecular biology and biochemistry and has experience in assay and drug development. He is involved in the development and evaluation of various ELISA assays.
Job Titles:
- Clinical Immunologist / Researcher
- Internist
Bram Rutgers MD PhD is an internist-clinical immunologist involved in treating patient with AASV and previously finished his PhD thesis on the role of neutrophil derived myeloperoxidase in immune mediated vascular diseases. He is currently involved in the ACR/EULAR endorsed study to develop classification and diagnostic criteria for primary systemic vasculitis (www.DCVAS.org),.
Dr. Dario Armando Leone (PhD) is a postdoc who received his bachelor degree in Biotechnology in 2006 at University of Palermo with 108/110 and his Master degree in Molecular Biotechnology 2009 at the University of Bologna with 107/110. After the initial training performed at the Netherland Cancer Institute (NKI-AVL) in Amsterdam in the group of Tom Schumacher; in September 2010, Dario worked on his PhD at the Medical University of Vienna (MUW) in the group of Prof. Kain. In June 2016 Dario obtained his PhD in Immunology discussing his thesis about the role of LAMP-2 in the antigen presentation machinery of Human Monocytes Derived Dendritic cell, defining a novel endocytic pathway that is deregulated by anti-LAMP-2 antibody circulating in Focal Necrotizing Glomerulo Nephritis (FNGN) patient. In particular, anti-LAMP-2 antibody promotes the dissemination of the target molecules of the classical Anti Neutrophils Cytoplasmatic Antibody (ANCA); Myeloperoxidase (MPO) and Proteinanse-3 (Pr3) altering their immunogenicity and influencing the balance between tolerance and immunity.
Job Titles:
- Post - Doctoral Fellow
- Post Doc Researcher
Elisa Pin is a post-doctoral fellow at SciLifeLab, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology. She has a MSc degree in Medical Biology from the University of Padua (Italy) and a Specialization degree in Clinical Pathology from the University of Udine (Italy). She has a background in genetics and virology, and in the last five years her research focused on protein biomarkers discovery and validation. She participated to several clinical research studies. Please see publicationslist for a list of publications
Eoin McKinney is a nephrologist and Wellcome Trust Clinical Fellow with an interest in the mechanisms particular to severe, relapsing autoimmune disease. His research explores parallel ways in which the immune system reacts to the triggers causing persistent infection (external eg bacteria) and persistent autoimmune disease (internal eg self-antigen) during a number of relapsing autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. He has developed a cell-culture laboratory model of the immune system reaction; this model recreates changes seen in patients with relapsing disease. Using a combination of techniques, Eoin aims to modify and control those changes allowing translation of these methods into novel treatment strategies for patients.
Loek Willems, BSc, business development manager, has a background in biochemistry and immunology, and over 15 year experience in research and development as well as intellectual property management (IPR). He coordinates IPR, dissemination and explorative activities in scientific projects. Together with Erik Toonen he is responsible for dissemination and exploitation opportunities for novel findings within RELENT.
Job Titles:
- Clinical Research Associate
Federica Mescia is a nephrologist and Clinical Research Associate in the Smith-Lyons Laboratory. She has a particular interest in autoimmune diseases, especially vasculitis and SLE. Her research focuses on collecting detailed biological data from patient samples and correlating them with patient history and disease-related outcomes: the aim is to shed light on the molecular basis of autoimmune diseases at the individual level. In particular, she is working on a novel Genome Wide Association Study in ANCA-associated vasculitis.
Job Titles:
- Head of Combinatorial Chemistry
Dr. Holger Eickhoff is Head of Combinatorial Chemistry. He is expert in analytics and medicinal chemistry and in the generation of drug-like molecules by solid phase and solution organic chemistry. Prior to working at EMC he held a research position at the University of Tübingen. Holger holds a PhD form the University of Tübingen and has a degree in chemistry from the University of Hamburg.
Karli Reiding, PhD is an expert in the glycomics/glycoproteomics field. He will analyze proteomic profiles of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies in the serum of patients with immune-mediated diseases and correlate them with clinical outcomes. He will try to understand why therapeutic monoclonal antibodies are more effective in some patients than others and how we can apply this knowledge to improve current treatments.
Job Titles:
- Researcher
- Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr Maliha Alikhan is a postdoctoral researcher in the Centre for Inflammatory Diseases.
She has a particular interest in studying innate and adaptive immune responses in ANCA-associated glomerulonephritis.
Her research focuses on understanding the functional role of intrarenal CD8 memory T cells in ANCA-associated glomerulonephritis, with the aim to develop improved diagnostics and improved biomarkers.
She has established critical techniques to study autoimmune responses in the kidney.
Job Titles:
- Lead Investigator at UCAM
- Principal Investigator / Leader WP 2
Paul Lyons, the lead investigator at UCAM, is a Principal Research Associate in the Department of Medicine at the University of Cambridge. He has established, together with Ken Smith, a translational research programme in immune-mediated disease: applying high-throughput genomic approaches to the study of human disease which has led to the identification of clinically relevant biomarkers as well as providing novel insight into the basic mechanisms of disease.
Dr. Renate Spohn, the local PI, is Senior Vice President of EMC. She joined EMC from the beginning and has more than 20 years experience in biopolymer and adjuvant chemistry, expertise in immunochemistry and assay development. Prior to her assignment at EMC she was Head of Production for Immunodiagnostics (ELISA and Western Blot kits) at Immuno GmbH, Heidelberg. Renate holds a PhD from the University of Tübingen and has a degree in biology and chemistry.
Job Titles:
- Head of Analytical Chemistry
Dr. Ute Wank is Head of Analytical Chemistry. She is expert in high resolution analytics of peptides and organic compounds and has experience in physical chemistry. Ute is closely involved in EMC's IP- and project management. Prior to working at EMC she was Laboratory Manager for pharmaceutical analysis at TECHPharm GmbH, Bruchsal and Laboratory Head for environmental analysis at INNOVENT e.V. Ute holds a PhD and a degree in chemistry from the University of Jena.
Vojtech Franc, PhD is an experienced postdoctoral researcher whose research is focused on mass spectrometry analysis of blood plasma proteins.
Job Titles:
- Principal Investigator / Leader WP3
- Rheumatologist and Internist
Elisabeth Brouwer MD PhD is a rheumatologist and internist with a degree in immunology. Her thesis was on the pathogenic potential of ANCA in AAV. She now focuses on GCA/LVV and PMR and the role of the ageing immune system in GCA/LVV and PMR. She initiated a longitudinal cohort study including clinical data collection and biobanking in order to address those issues. Internationally, dr. Brouwer participates in the Outcome Measures for Large Vessel Vasculitis and PMR Delphi Survey and the OMERACT PMR group.
Jan van Binsbergen, PhD, head of R&D, has a background in biochemistry and protein chemistry and has experience in the field of immuno- and molecular diagnostics. Jan supervises the R&D team.
Job Titles:
- Clinical Immunologist / Researcher
Jan Stephan Sanders MD PhD is a nephrologist with a particular interest in AASV. He is involved in both clinical and translational research projects in AAV and recently received research grants from the Dutch Kidney Foundation and the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMW). Dr Sanders is coordinating multiple clinical trials in AASV and renal transplantation.
Joyce joined the Vasculitis Foundation (then the Wegener's Granulomatosis Support Group, Inc.) in 1995 after her father was diagnosed with the disease. She served on the VF Board of Directors from 1997- 2002 when she assumed the role of executive director. Her passion is focused on improving the lives of patients living with vasculitis. Under her guidance, the Vascultis Foundation has expanded its mission from supporting one disease (Wegener's) to 15+ diseases and has partnered with major vasculitis medical centers around the world to provide better patient care and coordinated research efforts. Joyce is a co-chair of the NIH's RDCRN Coalition of Patient Advocacy Groups, and is a member of the National Coalition of Autoimmune Patient Groups and Nonprofit Connect. She serves on the steering committee of the Vasculitis Clinical Research Consortium Committee, an integrated group of academic medical centers, patient support organizations, and clinical research resources dedicated to conducting clinical research in different forms of vasculitis and improving the care of patients with vasculitis. She has been a member on the Scientific Advisory Board of the international INTRICATE research project and now advises the RELENT consortium.
As a vasculitis patient, Jutta Lindenthal has been active in the German
Job Titles:
- Professor of Medicine and Head of the Department
Ken Smith is Professor of Medicine and Head of the Department of Medicine at the University of Cambridge. He is a Fellow and Director of Studies in Clinical Medicine at Pembroke College, Cambridge and is the Khoo Oon Teik Professor of Nephrology, National University of Singapore. Research in his laboratory focusses on two areas:
Marijke Beenes, BSc, research technician, has a background in biochemistry and immunohistochemistry and has experience in assay development. She is also involved in the development and evaluation of various ELISA assays.
Mohamed R Daha received his Ph.D. degree in 1973 at the University of Leiden. Following a three year post doctoral training at the Harvard Medical School in the field of Immunological Mediators of Inflammation, with specific attention for complement he returned to Leiden University to head the research of the departments of Nephrology and Rheumatology at the Leiden University Medical Center. He was appointed to full Professor in Immunology in 1987. His main fields of scientific interest are immunology of inflammation with specific interest in kidney and complement associated diseases. He is strongly involved in the tutoring of medical- and biomedical students and is still responsible for the scientific education of medical students. Prof. Mohamed R Daha is a member of several societies such as The American Association for Immunology, British Society for Immunology, The International Society for Nephrology and The European and International Complement Societies. At the advisory levels he has served in several scientific advisory boards (e.g. Dutch Asthma Foundation, Dutch Rheumatology Foundation, Dutch Kidney Foundation). He was member of the council of the international complement society (ICS) and of the European Complement Network. Since 2010 Mohamed R. Daha is emeritus professor at the Leiden University and has a part time professorship at the University in Groningen and the University of Suriname, his home country.
Nicolas Galy, MSc is a PhD candidate who works on the characterization of protein post-translational modifications (PTMs), by integrating cutting-edge MS techniques high resolution native MS and bottom up proteomics. In particular he is interested in analysing protein glycosylation by using various MS-based strategies.
Professor A Richard Kitching (MB ChB (with distinction), FRACP, PhD, FASN), the local PI, is a nephrologist and physician-scientist at Monash Health. He is the Director of the Monash University Centre for Inflammatory Diseases. His clinical and research interests are in the pathogenesis and treatment of immune renal disease.
Albert Heck, PhD is a leading expert in protein mass spectrometry. His group develops and implements innovative mass spectrometric methods for the more efficient and detailed characterization of proteins in relation to their biological function. In short, Heck applies protein mass spectrometry to problems in proteomics, glycoproteomics and in structural biology.
Andy Rees qualified in Medicine in Liverpool and trained in internal medicine and nephrophrology in London first with Stewart Cameron at Guys Hospital and then with Keith Peters at Royal Postgraduate Medical School. He became a Senior Lecturer at RPMS and subsequently Professor of Nephrology and head of the unit. In 2004, he was appointed Regius Professor in Medicine at Aberdeen University. He moved to Vienna in 2007 to take up a Professorial Fellowship at the Clinical Institute of Pathology, Medical University of Vienna.
Throughout his career, Professor Rees' research has focussed on the clinical and pathogenetic aspects of glomerulonephritis - especially the various types of focal necrotizing glomerulonephritis. He has considerable expertise in the immunology of renal disease with an international reputation for his clinical and experimental studies in autoimmune disease including small vessel systemic vasculitis that had been translated into state of the art patient treatment and management. He was the Coordinator and Scientist-in-charge of TranSVIR, a Marie Curie Action funded by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Society of Biologists in the UK. He chairs the European Vasculitis Genetics Consortium and the European Kidney Health Alliance.
Job Titles:
- Vice - President and Head of the Experimental Medicine Unit Within the ImmunoInflammation Therapy Area at GlaxoSmithKline
Caroline Savage serves as Vice-President and Head of the Experimental Medicine Unit within the ImmunoInflammation Therapy Area at GlaxoSmithKline. She joined the company in July 2010 after a one year secondment from the University of Birmingham where she was Professor of Nephrology and Director of the Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility. She has a long-standing interest in pathogenic mechanisms of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The strategic aim of the Experimental Medicine Unit is to expedite innovative approaches to early medicines development through implementation of small studies that demonstrate whether a compound is safe, active on its target and can lead to meaningful efficacy in patients. Caroline Savage is Honorary Professor of Nephrology at the University of Birmingham and Honorary Senior Fellow at the University of Cambridge.
Job Titles:
- Principal Investigator, Small Vessel Vasculitis
Coen Stegeman MD PhD is a nephrologist with a longstanding track record in AASV research. He was the first to report the link between S. Aureus carriage and AAV. He is a member of several national and international working committees involved in protocolizing treatment of vasculitides and to provide guidelines on diagnosis, treatment and follow up. An important focus of research activities is vasculitis disease activity monitoring, risk assessment and individualizing patient treatment in an attempt to further improve patient outcome.
Dr. Hans-Joachim Anders, the local PI at LMU, received his medical training at the Universities of Goettingen, Wuerzburg, and Munich and is a board-certified nephrologist and rheumatologist. He was trained as a physician scientist in the area of molecular nephrology with a distinct focus on innate and adaptive immunity in kidney disease. From the clinical part he directs the Department of Nephrology and personally runs the second largest lupus clinic in Bavaria. From the experimental part he directs the Kidney Research Institute and guides an own group of 20 researchers devoted to kidney immunology. He was and is an active participant in several EU networks (MAIN, INNOCHEM, REDDSTAR, NEPHSTROM). His group made several original discoveries and initiated subsequent broad research efforts in the kidney community, e.g. on chemokines/CCRs, Toll-like receptors, and inflammasomes.
Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Wiesmüller, co-founder of EMC, is experienced in scientific as well as industry co-operations, project management, and coordination. He has more than 30 years expertise in peptide and lipopeptide synthesis as well as in development of synthetic vaccines and immunochemistry, documented by more than 180 original publications in peer-reviewed journals. Prior to his assignment at EMC he was Head of Libraries and Screening at EVOTEC BioSystems GmbH, Hamburg and Leader of the Department of Bio chemistry at the Natural & Medical Science Institute in Reutlingen. He holds a Habilitation degree in bioche mistry and a PhD from the University of Tübingen where he is currently teaching.
Kerstin Amann studied Medicine at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität in Heidelberg and is currently the head of Nephropathology at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. She also serves as a Member of the Advisory Board at microDimensions GmbH. She has received the Bernd-Tersteegen-Preis, the Dieter-Klaus-Förderpreis, the Franz-Volhard-Preis, as well as several congress awards. She gave numerous invited talks at international congresses, such as International Society of Nephrology, European Renal Association, European Society of Cardiology, European Peritoneal Dialysis Society, and European Society of Artificial Organs. Kerstin Amann is a member of several international congress advisory committees and of the management team of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nephrologie.
Mieke Boots PhD is a cellular immunologist presently working as a full professor and principal Investigator at the UMCG in Groningen. Her main research topic is on the immunology of ageing in relation to the development of late onset autoimmune diseases. The focus of the research is on definition of (cellular) biomarkers as predictors of disease, relapse and recovery in giant cell arteritis, polymyalgia rheumatica and RA.
Job Titles:
- Principal Investigator, Immune Regulation
- Renal Immunologist
Peter Heeringa PhD is a renal immunologist with extensive expertise in basic vasculitis research. He has considerable expertise in immunology and is internationally known for his work on animal models for ANCA associated vasculitis. His current research focuses on the role of ageing and immune regulation in the pathogenesis of vasculitis.
Job Titles:
- Project Coordinator / Leader WP1 and WP6
Prof. Renate Kain, M.D., Ph.D., the coordinator of RELENT, received her undergraduate medical and postgraduate training in histopathology, cytopathology, microbiology and molecular and genetic diagnostics at the University of Vienna. She is an expert renal histopathologist with a special interest in small vessel vasculitis and extensive expertise in cell biology, biochemistry, immunology and glycobiology. She obtained her PhD from the University of Aberdeen working on proteomic analysis auf antigenic targets in autoimmunity in the world class proteomics department. She made the original discovery of autoantibodies to human lysosomal membrane protein-2 (hLAMP-2) in vasculitis, and has recently shown they are pathogenic. Dr. Kain has previously shown herself to be highly effective in promoting collaboration between research centers throughout the US and Europe. She has several years expertise in managing an independent research laboratory funded through external grant income. Dr Kain has co-ordinated the training programme of the EC funded initial training network TranSVIR led by Prof. Rees and co-ordinated the EC funded project INTRICATE.
Virginie Hubert (MSc) is a PhD student at the clinical Institute of Pathology. Throughout her MSc in Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology (University of Namur, Belgium), she joined various projects in Belgium (Molecular Physiology Laboratory, University of Namur) and in the UK (Centre for Inflammation Research, Queen's Medical Research Institute, The University of Edinburgh). After completion of her master degree she applied successfully for a Marie Curie PhD studentship for Early Stage Researchers in the Renal Immunology and Nephropathology Group at the Clinical Institute of Pathology (Medical University of Vienna). There she had the opportunity to apply in vivo skills previously acquired and to expand her knowledge in molecular and cell biology as well as in live cell imaging. In collaboration with the Core facility (Medical University of Vienna) she has recently demonstrated the role of LAMP-2 in macroautophagy and currently investigates the underlying mechanism connecting LAMP-2 and autophagy as well as its role in cell death.
Wayel Abdulahad PhD is a senior researcher with a strong track record in T cell and B cell responses in ANCA-associated Vasculitides. His current research focuses on the effector/regulator cellular responses in patients with systemic autoimmune diseases, in particular ANCA-associated Vasculitides, Sjögren's Syndrome, Ankylosing spondylitis, and Giant Cell Arteritis.