Mentors

Arion Chatziioannou, Ph.D.
Hsian-Rong Tseng, Ph.D.
Anna Wu, Ph.D.

Research Interests:

The concept of using antibody based targeted approaches as a platform to generating imaging agents for cell surface targets in cancer is now well established. Mouse antibodies are large immunogenic proteins that diffuse slowly and clear slowly from the circulation. Therefore antibodies need to be engineered to generate 'optimized' imaging agents. Antibodies are often humanized to reduce their immunogenicity, or antibody fragments are engineered to improve their pharmacokinetic properties. Our overall goal is to develop a high throughput method to generate imaging probes specific to Prostate Cancer (PCa) antigens. Advances in human genome analysis and genomic and proteomic technology is generating a significant number of potential cell surface markers for PCa. To generate novel binding agents to these new potential cancer marker we are using phage and yeast libraries displaying human non-immune single chain Fv (scFv).

Career Development Award
UCLA SPORE in Prostate Cancer Program

Dorrell L, Willcox BE, Jones EY, Gillespie G, Njai H, Sabally S, Jaye A, DeGleria K, Rostron T, Lepin E, McMichael A, Whittle H, Rowland-Jones S. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes recognize structurally diverse, clade-specific and cross-reactive peptides in human immunodeficiency virus type-1 gag through HLA-B53. Eur J Immunol. 31, 1747-56 (2001).

Lepin EJ, Bastin JM, Allan DS, Roncador G, Braud VM, Mason DY, van der Merwe PA, McMichael AJ, Bell JI, Powis SH, O'Callaghan CA. Functional characterization of HLA-F and binding of HLA-F tetramers to ILT2 and ILT4 receptors. Eur J Immunol. 30,3552-61 (2000). Work also presented at the British Society of Immunology congress, held at Harrogate, 5 December 2000.