Lim, Sean H. - University of Southampton

个人简介

Sean H Lim is an Associate Professor and Honorary Consultant in Haemato-oncology. As a clinician scientist, my aim is to translate discoveries from the laboratory into meaningful changes in patient care. My research examines how we can exploit our own immune system to attack cancer using antibody immunotherapy. Sean Lim holds a Cancer Research UK Clinician Scientist Fellowship, awarded in 2013, and is currently Associate Professor of Haemato-Oncology, with specialist interest in lymphoma immunotherapy. She completed her medical degree at the University of Bristol in 2001, and then trained in general medicine before specialising in Haematology, which she completed in 2012. During this time, she was awarded clinical research training fellowship by the Medical Research Council, which enabled her to complete a PhD in cancer immunotherapy at Southampton in 2011. Her work was awarded the Royal College of Pathologists’ Specialty Research Medal (2012) and UK CLL Forum’s Catovsky Prize (2011) Dr Lim has recently returned to Southampton from Stanford University, USA, where she spent two years as a visiting fellow in Dr Ronald Levy’s laboratory.

研究领域

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Dr Lim’s main research interest in the understanding and development of new immunotherapies to treat B-cell lymphoma. B-cell lymphoma is a common cancer in adulthood. Lymphoma, like other cancers was conventionally treated by chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. The introduction of rituximab, a monoclonal antibody directed at CD20, a marker present on B cells, revolutionised lymphoma therapy. Nonetheless a significant number of resistant cases are still present. Previous research Dr Lim’s initial research was directed at understanding why rituximab failed in some cases. Her work showed that rituximab not only binds to its target CD20, but also to another marker present on B cells, Fc gamma RIIb (CD32b). Malignant B cells express more CD32b than normal B cells, and CD32b promotes the internalisation of rituximab into B cell. Consequently this reduces engagement of immune cells, which kill rituximab-coated B cells, and hence, resistance to rituximab. Thus the efficacy of rituximab could be improved by blocking its interaction with CD32b. Present research Her current research is focused on the use of immunostimulatory monoclonal antibodies in B-cell lymphoma. Unlike rituximab (a direct-targeting antibody), immunostimulatory antibodies such as OX40 (CD134) and 4-1BB (CD137) serve to enhance the activity of immune cells such as T cells and NK cells, which then kill tumour cells. Her work is focused on understanding whether the immunostimulatory antibodies can further enhance the clinical activity of rituximab in B-cell lymphoma. As both a clinician and a scientist, her primary aim is to translate discoveries from the laboratory into clinic as rapidly as possible.