Antibody giveaway winner announced

Posted on 2018-10-16

Congratulations Dr Susan Hawthorne at the University of Ulster!

Dr Hawthorn is a lecturer in Pharmaceutical Bioscience at Ulster University and course director for their MSci in Pharmaceutical Biosciences. She obtained her PhD in protein chemistry from Queen's University, Belfast, and her previous research examined the role of cell surface receptors in breast and prostate cancers. 

“I was very excited about Abbexa's giveaway so I decided to enter the free draw... I was thrilled to receive the email saying I had won!” - Dr Hawthorne 

Dr Hawthorne's research group has recently developed an in vitro human blood-brain barrier (BBB) model and intends to use her free, full-size antibody to detect levels of Tight Junction Protein I in the endothelial cell layer, as levels of this protein can give an indication as to the integrity of the BBB after targeted drug delivery. Drug delivery across the BBB and to the brain still presents as a major obstacle to the progression of therapeutics, due to the highly selective nature of the barrier membrane. 

The blood-brain barrier is composed of the blood vessels and vasculature which service the central nervous system, regulating brain homeostasis and controlling the entry of ions, molecules and cells. This protective membrane acts as a filter, preventing the entry of pathogens into the brain, thus also making the delivery of drugs particularly difficult. Research groups such as Dr Hawthorne's have developed the use of a targeted drug delivery system, whereby the drug in question is conjugated to a targeting molecule. In the case of Dr Hawthorne and her group, their previous research demonstrated the use of the neural cell targeting ligand, Rabies virus-derived particle, and its conjugation to drug-loaded nanoparticles which exhibited promising accumulation via uptake by the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, in a non-toxic and non-invasive manner. Read their research paper here.

Abbexa is committed to providing the highest quality research tools at affordable prices for researchers. Running prize draws such as our Antibody Giveaway gives us an opportunity to connect with you and provide you with the means to make your research grants and funds stretch significantly further. After the success of this giveaway, we look forward to launching our next promotion; watch this space to keep updated! In the meantime, why not explore all 350,000+ products Abbexa has to offer online here, with incredible support available to you every step of the way.

Browse Tight Junction Protein 1 antibodies here.

Browse Tight Junction Protein 2 antibodies here.

Browse Tight Junction 3 antibodies here.