Le mercredi 17 juin 2026, Madame Mégane JASSIN, titulaire d'un Master en biologie, biochimie moléculaire & cellulaire à finalité approfondie  et d'un Certificat de formation à la recherche en sciences biomédicales et pharmaceutiques, présentera l'examen en vue de l'obtention du grade de Doctorat en sciences biomédicales et pharmaceutiques, sous la direction de Monsieur Frédéric BARON et de Monsieur Jo CAERS.

Cette épreuve consistera en la défense publique d'une thèse intitulée : "Production and development of a new immunotherapy targeting multiple myeloma". 

Le jury sera composé de :

Nathalie JACOBS (Présidente), Chantal LECHANTEUR, Frédéric BARON, Jo CAERS, Emmanuel DONNADIEU (Inst. G. Roussy), Stanislas GORIELY (ULB),

Résumé de la thèse

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable hematologic malignancy characterized by the accumulation of monoclonal plasma cells in the bone marrow. Although therapeutic strategies have significantly improved, relapse remains inevitable. Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy has demonstrated strong clinical efficacy, and the use of single-domain antibodies (sdAbs) offers a promising alternative to conventional scFv-based CARs by improving stability and reducing tonic signaling.

This thesis comprises three projects. The primary project compares a newly developed anti-BCMA nanoCAR-T with the clinical CT103a CAR-T. Both constructs display potent and specific cytotoxic activity against BCMA-expressing MM cells in vitro and show comparable antitumor efficacy in vivo. They exhibit similar activation profiles, cytokine production, memory differentiation, and CD4/CD8 ratios, while nanoCAR-T cells demonstrate enhanced proliferation and reduced exhaustion upon repeated antigen exposure.

The second project investigates Fc receptor-like 5 (FCRL5) as a novel MM antigen. Two scFv-based CARs and one nanoCAR targeting FCRL5 were generated. Among them, the F2 CAR shows strong and antigen-specific cytotoxicity, supporting its potential for MM and B-cell lymphomas, consistent with high FCRL5 expression observed in several lymphoma subtypes.

The third project compares bead-based and bead-free T-cell activation. While both methods support robust expansion, they induce distinct activation and differentiation kinetics, converging upon restimulation, highlighting the importance of activation strategies in CAR-T manufacturing.