#SFU is advancing #COVID-19 related research—from diagnostics to treatment—with more than $1M from @InnovationCA. Congrats to Robert Britton, Robert Young, Masahiro Niikura and Ralph Pantophlet. @SFUResearch @SFU_FHS @SFU_Science https://t.co/bbpi47rKSI pic.twitter.com/Yg5M2whWwT
— Simon Fraser University (@SFU) November 6, 2020
A warm welcome to Hajar Chihab, the Pantophlet’s Lab’s newest postdoc. Hajar obtained her PhD in Immunovirology from the Chouaib Doukkali University in El Jadida, Morocco, under the primary supervision of Dr. Soumaya Benjelloun. Her doctoral research encompassed many aspects of host-virus interaction in the context of hepatitis B and C infections, from the study of viral genome mutations or variations and their influence on the persistence and clearance of viral infection to the study of hepatitis B and C host biomarkers involved in immune responses.
Congratulations to two talented undergrad students in the Pantophlet Lab: Yiqiu Yang and Diana Yang! Both received news recently of their successful Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA) applications to the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS). The awards will support them financially as they contribute to ongoing research projects in the lab this Fall (2020). Yiqiu, who has been a member of the lab since 2019, will continue to work on neutralizing antibodies to the high-mannose patch on HIV gp120. Diana, a new recruit to the lab, will contribute to research on the selective recognition of flu hemagglutinin by germline precursors of broadly neutralizing antibodies.
Vancouver biotech company AbCellera is developing antibodies to treat COVID-19. In the six-minute video below from The Tyee, Ralph Pantophlet is interviewed alongside Véronique Lecault, COO of AbCellera. They explain what antibody treatment is and endeavors to apply it to COVID-19. The video also explains how advances in technology are helping to find and isolate the right antibodies.
Our latest research contribution to identifying potential hurdles to the elicitation of glycan-specific HIV-neutralizing antibodies has just been published with @SpringerNature in @Scientific Reports! Read here: [article]
Congratulations to Quiana Ang! Quiana has been awarded her second Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA), which will enable her to continue her undergraduate research in the Pantophlet Lab over the summer, and has been accepted as a Master’s student in the Faculty of Health Sciences for Fall 2020!
Congratulations to Edarlin Bigornia, most recent undergraduate member of the Pantophlet Lab, who convocated this past week!
The Pantophlet Lab is seeking an experienced Research Assistant to support ongoing NIH- and CIHR-funded research related to HIV and flu vaccine development. Candidates will be interviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
For more information, visit our Opportunities page.
Official announcement of funding through the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF). The Hon. Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science and Sport, made the announcement today while visiting SFU’s Burnaby Campus. Dr. Ralph Pantophlet is one of three SFU lead researchers to receive JELF funding. The Pantophlet lab will acquire a new-generation flow cytometry system, enabling high-resolution analyses of immune responses and precise recovery of immune cells, thus stimulating new vaccine and cure strategies.
[Government of Canada announcement] [PDF]
[Simon Fraser News announcement] [PDF]
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