Sara Kassem

Research technician

RESEARCH

In the TiMaScan project, I mainly work on the proteomics part of the research. Here, we are investigating the characteristics of human small immune populations involved in the monocyte-macrophage maturation pathway. Furthermore, we are also focussing on defining the protease profiles in the lysosomes of these small immune subsets. This investigation is quite challenging as we work with low numbers of cells, requiring a standardized and accurate performance of different assays. In this group, I have been trained to perform full processing of samples for mass spectrometry analyses: from basic proteomic approaches as e.g. cell lysis, protein quantification, Western Blot, and protein visualization via stained gels (Coomassie and Silver) to advanced methodologies as e.g. in gel and in solution protein digestions and peptide purifications (using SP3- and C18-based strategies).

 

CURRICULUM VITAE

I obtained my MBO degree in Biotechnology at the Techniek College Rotterdam (ROC Zadkine) in 2016. During my MBO internship, I moved to the Department of Structural Biology at the University of Sydney where I worked on the characterization of DNMT3A interactions with long non-coding RNA. After that, I continued with a two months internship at the Department of Biochemistry (Erasmus MC) focussing on the allele-specific long-distance regulation that dictates IL-32 isoform switching and mediates susceptibility to HIV-1. In 2018, I received my BSc in Biomedical Sciences at Avans University of Applied Sciences in Breda. During my Bachelor’s degree, I worked on different research questions around Immunodeficiency, Centromeric instability, and Facial anomalies syndrome, at the Department of Human Genetics (LUMC). In 2019, I joined the group of Prof. dr. Jacques J.M. van Dongen as a research technician working on the TiMaScan project.

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