Jim Embleton - Overview

The central theme is the development and use of recombinant antibody fragments, including human single chain molecules and novel constructs, for a variety of purposes ranging from basic scientific research on cancer to diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Antibody constructs are prepared by assembly from immunoglobulin gene fragments and by novel methods of selection from phage display libraries, and are engineered into various formats depending on the application. In some cases they can be used directly as antibody fragments or fusion proteins, and in others they are integrated into other areas of research such as gene therapy. Current areas of application include development of recombinant antibodies capable of detecting oxidative lesions in DNA, intracellular expression of antibody fragments (intrabodies) to modify specific molecular or metabolic pathways, modification of receptors on T cells and other immunocytes to enhance their potential anti-cancer properties, and identification of novel markers on specific sub-populations of normal and neoplastic cells to aid cancer diagnosis and therapy.