SciFiMed's goal is to decipher the role of the Factor H protein family (FH) in disease. Microbes use FH as mechanism to bypass the human immune system (immune evasion), which is just one of CORVOS’ research topics, a European PhD program that focuses on the role of complement in opportunistic infections. This complementary interface creates exciting synergism between SciFiMed and CORVOS.
Both EU consortia met at the symposium "Host defense against infection - Complement and beyond" in Nijmegen, organized by SciFiMed & CORVOS joint member Hycult. Prof. Diana Pauly (University of Marburg, Germany) presented meningococcal disease as an opportunistic infection in which the FH protein family plays an important role. The unmet needs of the FH protein family were discussed (Poppelaars et al. 2021) and the goals of SciFiMed were presented.
SciFiMed PhD student Bert Veuskens (Sanquin, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) represented SciFiMed at the poster session discussing the generation of specific antibodies for FH-related protein 2.
In the future, SciFiMed and CORVOS will start scientific cross fertilization so we look forward to seeing you (again) at the 18th European Meeting on Complement in Human Disease (EMCHD).