Jean Van Den Elsen

Prof Jean Van Den Elsen is a Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Bath, affiliated with the Department of Life Sciences and several research centers including the Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technologies (CSCT), Centre for Therapeutic Innovation, and Milner Centre for Evolution. They are actively accepting doctoral students and leading multidisciplinary projects at the intersection of structural biology and immunology.

• Education: Not explicitly mentioned
• Appointments: University of Bath (current), with collaborations across Chemistry, Biology & Biochemistry departments

Research Focus: The laboratory investigates protein structural biology in two major areas:

• Complement System Interactions: Studying how pathogenic microbes like Staphylococcus aureus evade host immunity through complement system manipulation, with structural analysis of proteins such as C3d and C5 complexes. This work directly informs vaccine design and autoimmune disease treatment.
• Glycation Mechanisms: Developing diagnostic tools for detecting non-enzymatic sugar modifications linked to diabetes, Alzheimer's, and aging, with commercial partnerships like Abcam.

Article Trends: Recent publications demonstrate:

• Structural analysis of complement evasion proteins (2022-2025)
• Engineering knob domains as miniature antibodies (2023)
• Evolutionary studies on cooperative behavior (2021-2025)
• Advancements in peptide synthesis platforms (2022-2023)
• Applications of AI protein folding (2020)

Scientific Contributions:

• ORCID: 0000-0002-0367-1956
• BBSRC Funding recipient (2023)
• 100+ citations across 76 research outputs

Student Mentorship: Directly supervising 4 current PhD students and 1 postdoc, with a track record of mentoring 11 previous students including Daphne Jackson Fellows and MSCA researchers.

Collaborations: Maintains active partnerships with Dr. Tony James (Chemistry), Dr. Rob Williams (Biochemistry), and industry partners UCB Celltech and Porton Biopharma Ltd. Their work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals 3 (Good Health), 12 (Responsible Consumption), and 13 (Climate Action).