Dr. Marvin van Luijn receives € 347,953 from the Nationaal MS Fonds
Dr. Marvin van Luijn, principal investigator at the MS center ErasMS and supervisor of the NeuroImmunology Brain (NIB) workgroup at our department, has received € 347,953 from the Nationaal MS Fonds for his research into the development of multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system. In this project, his team aims to unravel disease-inducing B cells by integrating genetic risk variants with the persistence of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). This herpesvirus is one of the strongest risk factors for getting MS and remains latent within B cells.
Behavior
Dr. Marvin van Luijn and his research team want to understand why and how B cells act differently and infiltrate the central nervous system in people who are and are not susceptible to MS. Van Luijn: ‘We want to achieve this by looking into the functional impact of EBV interacting with MS risk loci on the B cell. Our main question is: in what other way does this type of immune cell develop or behave and, most importantly, can be detect this in a very early phase of MS?’
Step
Van Luijn is convinced that the key to the cause of MS lies within the adaptive arm of the immune system and expects this work will bring us closer to the cause of MS. ‘By gaining insight into the interplay between major risk factors for MS in the same immune cell, this may contribute to more accurateprediction of the heterogeneous disease course and refinement of current treatments in people with MS.”
Knowing more?
Read the article on Amazingerasmusmc.nl or watch the video below, in which Marvin talks extensively about his research.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqYfHLQDyoY
You can also find some information on this website:
