Dr Goicoechea de Jorge is a renowned biochemist with over 20 years of experience in complement research. She is currently a permanent scientist at the Centre for Biological Research Margarita Salas (Madrid, Spain). Since her PhD, her research has focused on the complement system and its role in kidney disease. With a strong background in complement genetics, biochemistry and animal models of complement dysregulation, she has significantly advanced the understanding of diseases such as atypical haemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS), C3 glomerulopathy and ANCA-associated vasculitis. In particular, her early work laid the foundation for complement inhibition therapy, which has transformed the treatment and prognosis of aHUS.Inkeri Lokki, PhD (Immunogenetics)
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Inkeri Lokki is an associate professor in immunogenetics at the University of Helsinki. With a background in population genetics, ecology and evolutionary biology, she has studied complement genetics in complex diseases for 17 years. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of East Anglia, U.K. in 2005 and her Master’s degree from the University of Helsinki in 2011. In 2017, Lokki defended her thesis titled “The conundrum of pre-eclampsia – from candidate genes to complement system” with Professor S. Ananth Karumanchi of Harvard University as her opponent. Besides being an expert in immunogenetics, Lokki is an accomplished placentologist with a passion for development of the human placenta. Lokki teaches medical students in immunology and supervises several undergraduate and two graduate students. Lokki continues to study reproductive immunology, immunogenetics of atherosclerosis and complement genetics of immunodeficient patients while contributing to several collaborative studies nationally and internationally.
Dr. Felix Poppelaars is a physician-scientist at the University Medical Center of Groningen. His primary research interest is understanding the role of the complement system in kidney disease, dialysis, and transplantation. His goal is to apply this knowledge to develop new tools and treatments that address unmet needs in the management of kidney diseases and renal replacement therapy. Under the mentorship of Dr. Marc Seelen and Moh Daha, he combined his PhD with his medical studies at the University of Groningen, studying the complement system in hemodialysis and kidney transplantation. He received both his MD and PhD with the distinction cum laude. Additionally, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Colorado with Prof. Joshua Thurman and Prof. Mike Holers, working on non-invasive imaging strategies for complement deposition.
Dr Josephine Vos is a staff hematologist at Amsterdam UMC and a clinical associate at Sanquin Diagnostics and Research, Amsterdam. Her work as a clinical hematologist and investigator is focused on immunohematology, in particular related to the rare conditions Waldenström macroglobulinaemia (WM) and IgM related disorders, as well as related autoimmune phenomena with a focus on auto-immune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) and cold agglutinin disease. She aims to raise the level of care of patients with these conditions at a national and international level by initiating and leading clinical trials and guidelines. Her reseach focuses on adapting novel pathophysiological, therapeutical and diagnostic concepts from more common B-cell and plasma cell malignancies to WM as well as AIHA.