Laura Ouboter

PhD student

Research

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), which consists of the subtypes Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, is a complex and heterogeneous disease. The pathogenesis of IBD is not well understood. Evidence suggests that an abnormal immune response against intestinal microbiota, harmful antigens or other exogenous pathogens play an important role in the inflammatory process associated with IBD in genetically susceptible individuals.
Previous studies have described the association of immune cell populations in IBD patients, but due to technical limitations their focus was mainly on specific immune lineages. High-dimensional mass cytometry, also known as ‘cytometry by time-of-flight’ (CyTOF) allows the analysis of a three-fold more markers (>40) compared with traditional flow cytometry. Therefore, we are now able to investigate different immune cell populations across major lineages simultaneously.
The aim of my research is to get a deeper insight into the composition of the immune system in IBD patients by using CyTOF. Hereby we study the immune cell subsets in naïve IBD patients and in patients with perianal fistulas. We also conduct a phase 2 clinical trial in which patients with refractory proctitis are treated locally with mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). This clinical study is investigating the safety, feasibility and the effect of local MSC treatment on the mucosal immune compartment in vivo by using CyTOF.



Curriculum Vitae

I studied Medicine at the Leiden University Medical Center and graduated in 2018. During my studies I discovered  that my particular interest lies within internal medicine: puzzle-solving and understanding of complex processes.
My master research internship, performed under supervision of Vincent van Unen in the group of Frits Koning, brought me into contact with the complexity of the immune system. This intrigued me very much and triggered me to continue this research as a PhD-student in the group of Frits Koning, in collaboration with the department of Gastroenterology.   

 

 

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