Ruth Huizinga

My background

I was trained as a medical biologist in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) where I developed a strong interest in neuro-immunology.

After my PhD-research on multiple sclerosis I switched from the central- to the peripheral nervous system and started to investigate immune-mediated neuropathies, in particular the Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). I studied the mechanism and extent of dendritic cell activation by Campylobacter jejuni in healthy persons and patients with GBS.

As part of my post-doctoral research, I was a visiting scientist at the University of Glasgow (Scotland, UK), where I further studied the development of antibodies to glycolipids in mice.

Back at the Erasmus MC, I focused on elucidating mechanisms of immune cell activation that drive the production of cross-reactive antibodies in GBS. In 2019, I was appointed as assistant professor at the department of Immunology of the Erasmus MC.

My projects

My research line on acute (GBS) and chronic immune-mediated neuropathies (chronic inflammatory demyelinating neuropathy and autoimmune nodopathy) clusters around the following topics:

• Susceptibility of disease. It fascinates me why some persons are susceptible to develop GBS and others not. For this we perform extensive genetic studies and investigate (immune responses to) infectious triggers that cause GBS.
• Immune responses driving the development of autoantibodies. I am especially interested in (antigen-specific) B cells and perform detailed immunophenotyping studies to assess the effect of immunomodulatory treatment with the ultimate aim to predict the response to therapy and improve treatment regimens.
• Antibodies to glycolipids and paranodal antigens. We perform and develop antibody assays to better understand the pathophysiology of disease and clone patient-derived antibodies to investigate the fine specificity and pathogenic effects.