Rachel Quilang

Research

I grew up in the United States, but began my academic career in Scotland.  I obtained my BSc in Applied Biomedical Sciences in 2014, and PhD in Reproductive Immunology in 2019, both from the University of the West of Scotland.  Under the supervision of Dr. Fiona Menzies and Professor Fiona Henriquez, my PhD project focused on placental atypical chemokine receptor 2 (ACKR2) and its interactions with the intracellular parasite, Toxoplasma gondii.

Wanting to stay in the field of reproductive biology, I joined the University of Leeds as a postdoctoral research assistant in June of 2019 as part of a MRC funded project led by Dr. Karen Forbes.  This project focused on maternal blood extracellular vesicle-bound microRNAs from pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes and the effects these may have on placental growth and fetal development.

Wanting to further explore the maternal-fetal interface, I moved to LUMC in May 2023, and began working with Dr. Michael Eikmans as a postdoctoral researcher investigating immunomodulatory maternal-fetal interactions by detecting and phenotyping microchimeric cells.

CURRICULUM VITAE

I studied Applied Biomedical Science at the University of the West of Scotland and graduated in 2014.  I did my PhD training at the University of Scotland and defended my thesis in 2019.