Franziska Budig
Investigation of the HLA-DR allotype-dependent influence of HLA-DM in autoimmune diseases
Biochemistry
PhD Student
Protein Biochemistry
14195 Berlin
In her PhD study, Franziska investigates the influence of the non-classical human leukocyte antigen DM (HLA-DM) and post-translational modifications on the composition of the immunopeptidome of HLA-DRB1 allotypes predisposing to type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. Insights into (auto-)antigen processing and loading in the context of autoimmune conditions are drawn from a compartment-specific peptidome analysis, complemented by correlated light and electron microscopy (CLEM) and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET). Her research is contributing to fundamental understanding of mechanisms relevant to autoimmunity paving the way for targetable insights for clinical settings.
Franziska Budig completed her Bachelor's and Master's degree in Biochemistry at the Freie Universität Berlin. Her research focused on characterising non-classical MHCII (ncMHCII) , HLA-DM and -DO allotypes. Using in vitro models, she analysed changes in the endosomal trafficking pathway and performed a multi-omics analysis to decipher the effects of altered HLA-DM molecule function on MHCII-associated peptidomes. In her PhD thesis, she will further elucidate the controversial role of HLA-DM in regulating autoimmune diseases, particularly rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes.
Keywords
- mass spectrometry, Correlative light and electron microscopy- electron tomography (CLEM-ET), Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) analysis, NMR, Fluorescence polarization (FP) and Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) assay