Scientific Advisors

Prof. Dr. Lucien Aarden

Lucien Aarden is Professor of Molecular Immunology at the University of Amsterdam and performs basic immunology research with an emphasis on antibodies at Sanquin Research in Amsterdam. He has authored more than 200 scientific publications and trained over 30 PhD students. Lucien graduated in Biochemistry from the University of Amsterdam and for his thesis performed seminal research on the role of anti-DNA antibodies in autoimmune disease. He developed assays, such as the Crithidia assay, which 30 years later, are still being used in clinical diagnosis and serology of anti-DNA antibodies. Lucien is also well known for his work on B-cell cytokines such as IL-6 and antibody effector function studies using murine isotype switch variants as well as recombinant antibodies. He performed pioneering work on the role of cytokines in sepsis and the relation between coagulation and cytokines. Lately Lucien has become interested in serology and he is recognized as one of the experts on human anti-antibody responses, particularly relating to studies on Remicade and Humira.

Prof. Dr. Huub Schellekens

Dr. Huub Schellekens is Professor of Medical Biotechnology at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. He teaches Medical Biotechnology at the Department of Innovation Studies and has a research position at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the same university. Huub is a member of the Dutch Medicine Evaluation Board and National Expert of the European Medicine Evaluation Agency. Huub is also chairman of the European Immunogenicity Platform. He is a medical microbiologist by training and works on the preclinical development of biopharmaceuticals. Dr. Schellekens has published more than 300 papers in peer-reviewed international journals concerning many aspects of the development of therapeutic proteins. During recent years his work has included the immunogenicity of protein drugs and the problem of biosimilars. Prior to joining Utrecht University, he was deputy director of the Dutch Primate Center, director of Medscand Ingeny, and medical microbiologist at the Reinier de Graaf Hospital in Delft the Netherlands. In 1992-1997 he coordinated a EU concerted action on the antigenicity of r-DNA derived pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Schellekens studied medicine at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, The Netherlands (1967-1973) where he also did his training in Medical Microbiology (1976-1980) and received his PhD in 1980.