Alumni

Aceel Al-Anizi

I am a PhD student in Danny Altmann's lab. My project mainly focuses on the interactions between the Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-Like Receptors, and HLA-C molecules.

Mini bio: Graduated from King Saud University, Riyadh, with a BSc in Biochemistry, then moved to London and completed my MSc in Molecular Medicine at Imperial College London. 

Sabine Steinbach

I am a Research technician investigating the role of different costimulatory molecules in multiple sclerosis.

Mini bio: I did my PhD work at the Robert Koch-Institut in Berlin identifying the new chemokine ATAC (huLtn). I worked for a few month as a research scientist at the Charité, Berlin investigating possible autoantigens in Rheumatology. Looking after two children I decided to take up a job with more regular hours and worked for some years as a research scientist at BioGenes GmbH, Berlin, responsible for quality management and immunoassay R&D.

Beckie (Rebecca) Ingram

I am am a post doc, working on T cell responses to bacterial antigens. I am involved with two projects, the first characterising the role of regulatory T cells in acute group A streptococcal infections. The second, epitope mapping CD4 responses to Bacillus anthracis and Yersinia pestis.

Mini Bio: After completion of a PhD in parasitology I commenced working for Imperial College in 2002. My first post was studying the immune correlates of protection from progression of HIV in Uganda. I started work on the bacterial T-cell epitope project in July 2005.

Ben Wakerley

I am a Clinical Research Fellow funded by the MRC.

Mini bio: I am training to be a neurologist and have a specialist interest in neuroinflammatory conditions. My Ph.D. is on T cell responses to myelin epitopes in multiple sclerosis.

Jeremy Isaacs 

MRC Clinical Training Fellow in Danny Altmann's lab in the Department of Infectious Diseases & Immunity, Imperial College London.

Mini bio: From April 2003 to March 2006 I was a clinical research fellow working jointly between the MRC Prion Unit, Institute of Neurology, UCL and Danny's lab at Imperial College.  I investigated the role of the cellular prion protein in T cell function and the potential for vaccine development against human prion diseases such as CJD.  Currently I am a Neurology Specialist Registrar at Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust by day, and writing papers and my PhD thesis by night.

Sophie Derniame

I am a research associate (post-doc) looking at the HLA-DQ restricted responses in Multiple Sclerosis.

Mini Bio: I did my Masters and my PhD at the University of Nancy, France on the subject of 'Lung cancer, local immune response and tumor dependent modulation.' Then I moved to London in August of 2006.

Vassiliki (Venya) Kostadima

I am trying to understand and apply immunological methods that could shed light on the complicated pathophysiology of neurological diseases like multiple sclerosis. I am concerned particularly with T-cell reactivity to myelin antigens in MS patients performing the ELISPOT assay.
 
Mini Bio: I am a consultant Neurologist in the University Hospital of Ioannina, in Greece. I am also a Mathematician. My Masters was on the interaction of the brain (neurobiology) and the mind (philosophy, psychology, mathematics). My PhD is on the physiology of eye movements (Title: The role of neck proprioceptors in eye movements and orientation).

Agnesska Christa Benjamin (preferred name Christa)

I am an MSc student, working on the expression and function of HLA class II transfectant antigen presenting cells.

Mini bio: I moved to the UK from Germany 9 years ago and completed my BSc in Medical Genetics at University of Leicester in 2007.