Dr. Natalia Freund

Clinical Microbiology and Immunology
מיקרוביולוגיה ואימונולוגיה קלינית סגל אקדמי בכיר
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Dr. Natalia Freund
Phone: 03-6409319
Fax: 03-6422046
Office: Sackler School of Medicine, 802

Positions

Senior Lecturer (with tenure), Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine

 

Research

My laboratory is interested in understanding the molecular basis of human antibody responses to diseases.

 

Antibodies are key components of most licensed vaccines; nevertheless many aspects of how antibodies recognize and neutralize their targets are still unknown. Pathogen-specific B cells are stimulated after antigen encounter and subsequently undergo affinity maturation and selection in distinct anatomical structures called germinal centres. After several rounds of affinity maturation and selection some B cell clones acquire high affinity for the antigen, and sometimes the ability to neutralize it. To characterise the human responses to diseases we use single B cell sorting and cloning methods to sequence the monoclonal antibodies directly from infected patients and isolate the antibodies they produce during different stages of the disease.

 

Our ultimate goal is to exploit our knowledge of the human antibody responses for the development of new diagnostic tools, immune-treatments and for the discovery of new vaccine targets. Our ongoing projects include:

  • Antibody responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis
  • Neutralizing anti-HIV-1 antibodiesNeutralizing anti-HIV-1 antibodies
  • Antibodies against parasites
  • Discovery of anti-tumor antibodies

 

Publications

Wang H, Gristick HB, Scharf L, West Jr. AP, Galimidi RP, Seaman MS, Freund NT, Nussenzweig MC, Bjorkman PJ Asymmetric recognition of HIV-1 Env trimer by V1V2 loop-targeting antibodies. Elife 2017, 26;6.

 

Freund NT, Haoqing H, Scharf L, Noguiera L, Horwitz JA, Sievers S, Sok D, Golijanin J, Halper-Stromberg A, West A, Lorenzi JC, Toth I, Piechocka-Torcha A, Wang LX, Seaman MS, Burton D, Gazumyan A, Walker BD, Bjorkman PJ; Nussenzweig MC. Co-existence of potent HIV-1 broadly neutralizing antibodies and antibody-sensitive viruses in a viremic controller. Science Trans. Med. 2017, 18;9(373).

 

Escolano A, Steichen J, Dosenovic P, Kulp D, Golijanin J, Sok D, Freund NT, Araki T, Lowe S, Chen S, Heinemann J, Oliveira T, Gitlin A, Hui-Yao K, Georgeson E, Karen L, Francisco S, Gazumyan A, Burton D, Schief W.R, Nussenzweig M.C Sequential Immunization Elicits broadly neutralizing anti-HIV- 1 antibodies in Ig knock in mice. Cell. 2016, 8;166:1445

 

Steichen J.M, Kulp D.W, Tokatlian, T, Escolano A, Docenovic, P, Stanfield RL, McCoy L.E, Ozorowski G, Xiaozhen H, Kalyuzhniy, O, Briney B, Schiffner T, Garces F, Freund NT, Gitlin, A, Georgeson E, Kubitz M, Adachi Y, Jones M, Mutafyan A, Yun D.S, Mayer C, Ward A, Burton D, Wilson IA, Irvine DJ, Nussenzweig MC, Schief WR. HIV vaccine design to target germline precursors of glycan-dependent broadly neutralizing antibodies. Immunity 2016, 20;45:483.

 

McGuire AT, Gray MD, Dosenovic P, Gitlin AD, Freund NT, Petersen J, Correnti C, Johnsen W, Kegel R, Stuart AB, Glenn J, Seaman MS, Schief WR, Strong RK, Nussenzweig MC, Stamatatos L. Specifically modified Env immunogens activate B-cell precursors of broadly neutralizing HIV-1 antibodies in transgenic mice. Nat. Com. 2016, 24;7:10618.

 

Freund NT, Horwitz JA, Nogueira L, Sievers SA, Scharf L, Scheid JF, Gazumyan A, Liu C, Velinzon K, Goldenthal A, Sanders RW, Moore JP, Bjorkman PJ, Seaman MS, Walker BD, Klein F, Nussenzweig MC. A new glycan-dependent CD4-binding site neutralizing antibody exerts pressure on HIV-1 In vivo. PLoS Pathog. 2015, 30;11:e1005238.

 

Freund NT, Roitburd-Berman A, Sui J, MarascoWA, Gershoni JM. Reconstitution of the receptor-binding motif of the SARS coronavirus Protein Eng. Des. Sel. 2015, 28:567-75.

 

Freund NT, Scheid JF, Mouquet H, Nussenzweig MC. Amplification of highly mutated human Ig lambda light chains from an HIV-1 infected patient. J Immunol Methods. 2015, 418:61-5.

 

Dosenovic P, von Boehmer L, Escolano A, Jardine J, Freund NT, Gitlin AD, McGuire AT, Kulp DW, Oliveira T, Scharf L, Pietzsch J, Gray MD, Cupo A, van Gils MJ, Yao KH, Liu C, Gazumyan A, Seaman MS, Björkman PJ, Sanders RW, Moore JP, Stamatatos L, Schief WR, Nussenzweig MC. Immunization for HIV-1 Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies in Human Ig Knockin Mice. Cell. 2015, 18;161(7):1505-15.

 

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