Rebecca Thompson, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist at Biovest International, a personalized medicine company specializing in a tailor-made vaccine to fight non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She develops and validates bioanalytical assays for different stages of the vaccine process. Her Ph.D. is in biomedical sciences specializing in infection, immunity and transplantation.
Previously, Dr. Thompson was the Technical Supervisor for Cellular Immunology at a state of the art reference laboratory in northern Wisconsin. She analyzed and reviewed patient test results and monitored assay technical performance for five immunological tests. These tests utilized flow cytometry, B cell proliferation, chromium release, ELISPOT and multiplex immunoassay methods. Dr. Thompson was recruited into the Immunology department due to her expertise in working with human PBMCs, B cells and ELISA development.
Her Ph.D. thesis research explored the B cell immune response following vaccination with the purified pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine, Pneumovax® in groups at high risk for infection. These clinical studies investigated the immune dysfunction in HIV-positive and elderly individuals in response to Streptococcus pneumoniae. Human blood samples were analyzed to diagnose an individual’s stage of HIV infection and immune senescence. In the case of HIV-positive patients, blood analysis using flow cytometry determined whether vaccination or further treatment with HAART was recommended. Her areas of expertise include antibody avidity and carbohydrate chemistry. Dr. Thompson has presented her work internationally.
Additionally, Dr. Thompson has a B.S. in pharmaceutical sciences majoring in pharmacology and toxicology with a minor in biochemistry.
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