Seeking the causes of antibody deficiency and lymphoma

Qiang Pan Hammarström, as a Wallenberg Scholar, hopes to discover the molecular basis of antibody deficiency and to find clues as to how cancer of the lymphatic system (lymphoma) forms by studying the mechanisms involved in the regulation of immunoglobulin gene diversification.

Professor Qiang Pan Hammarström seeks to understand the complex mechanisms that control the immunoglobulin gene diversification processes in human B cells, the main job of which is to synthesis immunoglobulin (antibodies).

Immunoglobulins play a crucial role in the human adaptive immune system and protect the body from invaders such as bacteria and viruses.

Immunodeficiency

As a Wallenberg Scholar, Qiang Pan Hammarström will be mapping the blocks in the development of B cells in patients with primary immunodeficiency. Additionally, she plans to identify the early steps leading to malignant B cells transformation. A better understanding of these B cell disorders can pave the way for new forms of therapy.

To achieve these goals, Pan Hammarström and her research group will be creating models and developing tests to study the regulation of the immunoglobulin gene diversification processes in human B cells.