Director
Dr. Gonca Karahan
Curriculum Vitae
I studied biomedical sciences at Istanbul University, Turkey, graduating in 2000. I spent the next 11 years at the HLA Laboratory of Istanbul Medical Faculty, where I combined patient-related work with pursuing an MSc in 2003 and a PhD in 2010 in medical biology. My research during this time focused soluble CD30 and anti-HLA antibody detection in sensitized kidney transplant recipients.
In 2012, I moved to the Netherlands to further my research in immunology, joining the Transplantation Immunology Research Laboratory at Department of Immunology, LUMC. As a PhD student under supervision of Dr. Sebastiaan Heidt and Prof. Dr. Frans Claas, I developed several methods for HLA-specific memory B cell detection in kidney transplant patients. After obtaining my PhD in immunology in 2017, I continued as a post-doctoral scientist in the same group, expanding my research to study anti-HLA antibody characteristics and alloreactive immune memory. Currently, I lead a Dutch Kidney Foundation-funded project investigating the role of HLA-specific memory B cell detection in the immunological risk assessment of highly sensitized kidney transplant patients undergoing desensitization treatments.
As of August 15, 2024, I started working as the Director of the Eurotransplant Reference Laboratory (ETRL) where I will combine my experience in the histocompatibility field with my research expertise. In addition, I am the chair of the Eurotransplant Tissue Typing Advisory Committee and member of the Eurotransplant Council of Medicine and Science and Scientific Committee of European Federation for Immunogenetics (EFI).
Publications
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An Easy and Sensitive Method to Profile the Antibody Specificities of HLA-Specific Memory B Cells.
Karahan GE, Krop J, Wehmeier C, de Vaal Y, Langerak-Langerak J, Roelen DL, Lardy NM, Bemelman FJ, Ten Berge I, Reinders MEJ, van Kooten C, Claas FHJ, Heidt S.
Transplantation. 2019 Apr;103(4):716-723.
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A memory B cell crossmatch assay for quantification
donor-specific memory B cells in the peripheral blood of HLA-immunized individuals.
Karahan GE, Krop J, Vaal YJH, Claas FHJ, Heidt S.
Am J Transplant. 2017 Oct;17(10):2617-2626.
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Quantification of HLA class II-specific memory B cells in HLA-sensitized individuals.
Karahan GE, de Vaal YJ, Roelen DL, Buchli R, Claas FH, Heidt S.
Hum Immunol. 2015 Mar;76(2-3):129-36.
Groups:
Tutors | Eurotransplant Reference Laboratory
