Senior research technician
Arifa Ozir-Fazalalikhan
Research
I started in 2025 as an senior research technician at the Department of Immunology under the supervision of Prof. Hermelijn Smits. I’m involved in various projects, assisting both PhD students and postdocs. This includes activities regarding controlled human infections with respiratory pathogens, like Rhinovirus(RV)16 or RV39. My role is to set up and perform the screening of the participants on neutralizing antibodies for the study, organize the sample processing for the study , develop a database, analyse and report the results to the clinical team. In addition, I’m involved in a project investigating the immunomodulatory activities of helminth-derived molecules (e.g. TGF-beta mimic – TGM) in myeloid and lung epithelial cells.
Curriculum vitae
In 2008 I obtained my degree Bachelor of Applied Science with Biomedical profile, which included an internship in the Netherlands cancer institute on humanized brain cancer models. I continued working there a few months after my graduation. Next, I worked at Biomedical Primate Research Centre from 2008 till April 2010 and studied the immune response to different vaccines against Tuberculosis in non-human primates. In April 2010 I started working at LUMC in the Department of Parasitology under supervision of Prof. Hermelijn Smits investigating the role of helminth infections or their molecules in preventing allergic airway inflammation in both mice and patient-derived immune cells.
This work entailed mouse models for allergic airway inflammation combined with infections with Schistosoma Mansoni parasites. I coordinated the lifecycle of Schistosoma parasites and produced several cercariae batches for the clinical challenge studies. I have generated and purified recombinant parasite molecules in human cell lines to study their effect on the immune system and respiratory allergies in vivo and in vitro. I routinely apply in vitro cell culture techniques and read-out analyses with ELISA, Luminex, MACS, Flowcytometry and PCR with primary human and mouse cells/cell lines.
Publications
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S. mansoni -derived omega-1 prevents OVA-specific allergic airway inflammation via hampering of cDC2 migration
Thiago Patente; Thomas A. Gasan; Maaike Scheenstra; Arifa Ozir-Fazalalikhan; Katja Obieglo; Sjoerd Schetters; Stijn Verwaerde; Karl Vergote; Frank Otto; Ruud H. P. Wilbers et al.
Plos Pathogens DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012457
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Early expansion of allergen-responsive LAP+ B regulatory cells in allergic rhinitis but not in allergic asthma subjects during allergen immunotherapy
Astrid L. Voskamp; Nicolette W. de Jong; Simon P. Jochems; Arifa Ozir‐Fazalalikhan; Oscar R. J. van Hengel; Luciën E. P. M. van der Vlugt; Koen Alexander Stam; Maarten van den Berge; Martijn C. Nawijn; Gert‐Jan Braunstahl et al.
Allergy DOI: 10.1111/all.15973
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A controlled human Schistosoma mansoni infection model to advance novel drugs, vaccines and diagnostics
Langenberg, Marijke C. C.; Hoogerwerf, Marie-Astrid; Koopman, Jan Pieter R.; Janse, Jacqueline J.; Kos-van Oosterhoud, Janneke; Feijt, Carola; Jochems, Simon P.; de Dood, Claudia J.; van Schuijlenburg, Roos; Ozir-Fazalalikhan, Arifa et al.
Nature Medicine DOI: 10.1038/S41591-020-0759-X
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Isolated Schistosoma mansoni eggs prevent allergic airway inflammation
Obieglo, K.; Schuijs, M. J.; Ozir-Fazalalikhan, A.; Otto, F.; van Wijck, Y.; Boon, L.; Lambrecht, B. N.; Taube, C.; Smits, H. H.
Parasite Immunology DOI: 10.1111/pim.12579
