On 26th of October 2023 Wieke Grievink successfully defended her thesis titled ‘Immunity in atherosclerosis: novel assays, biomarkers and therapeutic approaches’ at the University of Leiden.
Wieke’s thesis covers new insights on atherosclerosis, the underlying cause of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). CVDs are the leading cause of death worldwide. Atherosclerosis is characterized by formation of a plaque in the arterial wall, which consists of the buildup of cholesterol, lipids and other substances. The immune system plays a vital role in the formation and progression of atherosclerosis.
Immunomodulating drugs have been in development as a potential treatment for atherosclerosis with promising results. Nevertheless, more research is needed to fully prevent and treat atherosclerosis.
The first part of the thesis is focused on the exploration of novel biomarkers for atherosclerosis as well as developing assays that can be used during clinical trials to test immunomodulating drugs for atherosclerosis. It identifies biomarkers in circulation, the effect of LPS on neutrophils, development of whole blood inflammasome assays and the effect of sample aging on monocyte response in such assays. Secondly the thesis explores pre-clinical and clinical testing of immunomodulatory compounds as preventative or treatment potential for atherosclerosis. Even though to date no immunomodulating therapies exist for atherosclerosis, they are likely to be a treatment option in the near future.
You can read Wieke’s thesis here
Wieke was supervised by promotor Prof. dr. J. Burggraaf and Co-promotores Dr. M. Moerland and Dr. A. C. Foks.
