SIC Seminar Series - Professor Adnane Achour

Understanding receptor/ligand interactions at a molecular level; Implications for immune responses

This seminar will examine how peptide/MHC structures, stability, and long-range dynamics may influence T-cell recognition and immunogenicity.

I will show how dynamic coupling can be used to identify pathways of signal transmission that explain how specific altered peptide ligands modulate TCR recognition.

I will also present engineered, soluble peptide-receptive MHC platforms that enable systematic analysis of TCR specificity.

Finally, I will describe the development of pMHC-specific DARpin molecules and discuss how this new class of T cell engagers can be applied in immunotherapy.

Biosketch:

Adnane Achour is a Professor of Molecular Immunology at the Science for Life Laboratory, Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, where he leads a research group focused on structural and biophysical immunology, particularly the mechanisms of T-cell and NK-cell receptor recognition of peptide–MHC complexes and the design of altered peptide ligands to enhance immune responses.

Born in Rabat, Morocco in 1967, he studied mathematics, biophysical chemistry and chemical engineering in France and Sweden before completing his PhD at Karolinska Institutet on structural studies of MHC class I complexes and their implications for immune recognition.

Since establishing his own research group in 2003, his work has combined structural biology, biophysics, and functional immunology to understand protein interactions in infection and cancer and to develop novel strategies for vaccine and immunotherapy design.

All researchers and immunology enthusiasts are warmly invited to attend.

Note: This seminar will not be offered online