Contact

Laboratory for General Biochemistry and Physical Pharmacy
Ghent University
Ottergemsesteenweg 460
9000 Gent
Belgium
Tel: 0032 9 264 80 47 (secretary)
Tel: 0032 9 264 83 65 (direct)
Fax: 0032 9 2648189
E-mail: ragna.haegebaert@ugent.be

Biography

Ragna Haegebaert obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University at Buffalo. Afterwards, she studied for her Master’s in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. She completed her Master’s thesis, titled “binding and immunogenicity assessment of biopharmaceuticals using flow induced dispersion analysis,” at a biotech start-up, Fidaobio. In October 2020, Ragna started her PhD at the Laboratory of General Biochemistry and Physical Pharmacy.

Interests

Immunology, peritoneal carcinomatosis, nanomedicines, cancer therapeutics, drug delivery

Summary Research Project

One in four patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer will develop peritoneal carcinomatosis. Despite current treatments, including chemotherapeutics and surgical removal, many patients relapse. This is partly due to a state of immune suppression resulting from the therapies allowing for the regrowth of residual disease.
Recently, immunotherapy has been shown to be a promising method of treating cancers. In this project, nanoparticles containing immune modulating drugs will be optimized for the targeting of the tumor microenvironment to treat peritoneal carcinomatosis.