On Friday 29 November at 13:00, Emilie Grarup Jensen defends her PhD dissertation entitled "Complement-inhibiting nanobodies as a novel therapeutic strategy for age-related macular degeneration".

Age-related macular degeneration is a common retinal disease affecting the elderly. The disease may progress into advanced stages with severe central vision loss. Current therapeutic options are limited and suboptimal, highlighting the need for new, more efficient and long-lasting treatment strategies. AMD is strongly associated with an overactive complement system, which is why this ph.d. project investigates a complement inhibitor as a potential treatment for AMD. This complement inhibitor is a unique, small and highly stable single-domain antibody, termed a nanobody (Nb), originating from a speciel antibody discovered in lamas. The Nb was tested as a long-term therapeutic strategy, as a gene therapy, in which specific eye cells are enabled to stably produce the treatment. A Nb called hC3Nb1, targeting complement component C3, was selected and tested in disease-relevant cell systems and mouse models to assess its potential as a complement-inhibiting gene therapy for AMD. In conclusion, the obtained results demonstrate hC3Nb1-based gene therapy as a potential treatment for AMD.

The summary is written by the PhD student. 

The defence is public and takes place in Eduard Biermann auditorium, Lakeside Theatres, Aarhus University and on zoom. Please see the press release for more information. 

Contact

PhD student Emilie Grarup Jensen
Mail: egj@biomed.au.dk   
Phone: 61 33 53 57

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