Recent PhD defenses
Here we highlight the achievements of our latest PhD graduates, each of whom has made significant contributions to the advancement of the field of (bio)pharmaceutical sciences.
Fernando Lozano Vigario (BioTherapeutics) - 10 September 2024
Nanoparticles can be used as delivery systems for both small molecules and macromolecules such as proteins, peptides or oligonucleotides. Fernando examined key aspects of liposome formulations, including the elucidation of target antigens to be used in a tolerogenic vaccine against atherosclerosis, the manufacture of these formulations using microfluidics, the use of vitaminD3 as a tolerogenic adjuvant, and the role of liposome rigidity in the tolerogenic effect of these nanoparticles. Furthermore, he explored the use of liposomes to induce protective anti-viral immunity against influenza.
Liposome-based vaccines for immune modulation | Scholarly Publications (universiteitleiden.nl)
Jara Bouma (Medicinal Chemistry) - 11 September 2024
It’s about time that novel concepts for GPCRs are incorporated into early drug discovery programs, where a kinetic view is applied to provide a better translational perspective. Jara explored the molecular pharmacological mechanisms of targeting CB2R via investigation of novel drug discovery concepts such as target binding kinetics, allosteric modulation and biased signaling.
Virginia Smit (BioTherapeutics) - 12 September 2024
Healthy aging is one of the prime goals in today's society and atherosclerosis is among the greatest causes of morbidity in elderly. Cardiovascular disease patients receiving treatment are often of advanced aged and have an aged immune system, which limits translating experimental findings to the patient. It is therefore essential to take aging into consideration when investigating immune cells and their responses in atherosclerosis studies. This thesis describes research exploring the impact of aging on the immunological landscape in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease using single-cell profiling.
Characterization of age-associated immunity in atherosclerosis
Ilona den Hartog (Systems Pharmacology and Pharmacy/MAC) - 17 September 2024
Ilona den Hartog defended her PhD thesis on the use of metabolomics for the discovery of novel biomarkers to guide therapies against pneumonia. This project was a collaboration between the division MAC (Thomas Hankemeier) and SPP (Coen van Hasselt). Read more in this article: https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2024/09/a-new-perspective-on-pneumonia-what-does-our-body-tell-us-about-the-cause
Metabolomics in community-acquired pneumonia
Lisa den Hollander (Medicinal Chemistry) - 25 September 2024
The development of drugs targeting chemokine receptors including CCR2 has been turbulent. In this thesis, Lisa explored novel avenues on aiding drug development for this receptor, with an emphasis on cancer. The pharmacological characterization of intracellular allosteric ligands for chemokine receptors, the effect of cancer associated mutations on CCR2 function and druggability, and the sodium ion binding site as a third binding site in CCR2 and visualized CCR2 using a novel AfBP are explored.
