0+4 iCASE Student
I am a second year iCASE student partnered with Ludger, a biosciences company specialising in glycan analysis. My project looks at antibody engineering to identify optimal expression systems and glycoforms of IgE-class antibodies for cancer therapy, aiming to investigate effects of IgE glycosylation on functional profile and how this in turn translates to a therapeutic profile. Before coming to King’s, I obtained my bachelors in biological sciences from the University of Dundee, where I specialised in immunology and cancer biology. I completed my honours dissertation on the characterisation of sialoadhesin counter-receptors on regulatory T cells; and during my time here, I also completed separate projects on drug-discovery assays for siglec 9 and an exchange internship with Taylor’s University Malaysia where I worked on the development of nanoparticles for drug delivery. I chose the MRC-DTP as the project and associated partnership would enable to gain further experience in the field of glycobiology, as well as the range of opportunities for training and development offered by the program; and for the community it provided.
Publications
Willsmore, Z. N., Coumbe, B., Crescioli, S., Reci, S., Gupta, A., Harris, R. J., Chenoweth, A., Chauhan, J., Bax, H. J., McCraw, A., Cheung, A., Osborn, G., Hoffmann, R. M., Nakamura, M., Laddach, R., Geh, J., MacKenzie-Ross, A., Healy, C., Tsoka, S., Spicer, J. F., … Karagiannis, S. N. (2021). Combined anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 checkpoint blockade: Treatment of melanoma and immune mechanisms of action. European journal of immunology, 51(3), 544–556. https://doi.org/10.1002/eji.202048747
Chauhan, J., McCraw, A. J., Nakamura, M., Osborn, G., Sow, H. S., Cox, V. F., Stavraka, C., Josephs, D. H., Spicer, J. F., Karagiannis, S. N., & Bax, H. J. (2020). IgE Antibodies against Cancer: Efficacy and Safety. Antibodies (Basel, Switzerland), 9(4), 55. https://doi.org/10.3390/antib9040055
Willsmore, Z. N., Harris, R. J., Crescioli, S., Hussein, K., Kakkassery, H., Thapa, D., Cheung, A., Chauhan, J., Bax, H. J., Chenoweth, A., Laddach, R., Osborn, G., McCraw, A., Hoffmann, R. M., Nakamura, M., Geh, J. L., MacKenzie-Ross, A., Healy, C., Tsoka, S., Spicer, J. F., … Karagiannis, S. N. (2021). B Cells in Patients With Melanoma: Implications for Treatment With Checkpoint Inhibitor Antibodies. Frontiers in immunology, 11, 622442. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.622442
Wu G., Murugesan G., Nagala M., McCraw A., Haslam S. M., Dell A., Crocker P.R. (2020) Regulatory T cell activation triggers specific changes in glycosylation associated with Siglec-I-dependent inflammatory responses. BioRxiv: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.29.226399