Challenges and Solutions in Host Cell Protein ELISA Development

Stefan Sommerschuh, Head of Assay Development, BioGenes

Stefan Sommerschuh received his Diploma in Biotechnology from the University of Applied Sciences (TFH) Berlin, with a focus on bioprocessing. For his diploma thesis at Strathmann Biotec in Hamburg, he worked on the downstream process development of recombinantly-expressed proteins. Stefan joined BioGenes in 2007 as a scientist in charge of immunoassay development. In 2014, he became the head of the immunoassay department, responsible for leading scientific projects. Stefan has expertise in HCP assay development, including reagent characterization, antibody purification and ELISA optimization. He also supervises all aspects of analytical method qualification/validation, according to the established guidelines.

Marieke Tesch, Marketing & Sales Manager, BioGenes

Marieke Tesch received her diploma degree in Biology from the university of Tuebingen with specialization in immunology, human physiology and human genetics. During her subsequent PhD thesis and postdoctoral studies at the Institute of Immunology and Experimental Oncology of the University of Witten/Herdecke, she further deepened her knowledge in the field of cancer research. 

The PhD program that she attended was one of the first that promoted the collaboration of physicians and natural scientists to foster biomedical research. For her last postdoctoral position, she joined the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston as a postdoctoral research fellow of the Harvard University to conduct research on antibody- and CAR T cell-based immunotherapy for the treatment of various tumor diseases. Since 2017, she has been a Marketing / Sales Manager at BioGenes.

Martin Föge, PhD, Business Development Manager, BioGenes

Martin Föge received his diploma in Biology from the University of Greifswald, Germany, with specialization in Microbiology, Virology and Biochemistry. Following this, he became a member of the PhD graduate academy at the Jena School for Microbial Communication with a stipend for his doctoral thesis at the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (HKI Jena, Germany). After the successful completion of his PhD, he used his expertise on human-pathogenic fungi in a post-doctoral position at the University Clinics Jena, Germany. Here, he focused on the investigation of the impaired innate immune response of cancer patients to deadly fungal infections by using a variety of immunological and molecular biological methods.

To complement his scientific skills, Martin then completed a training program in Life Science Management, including key aspects of Marketing, Project Management, Regulatory Affairs Management and Drug Development, before joining BioGenes in 2018. After starting in the position of Marketing Manager, he has recently established himself as Business Development Manager at BioGenes, linking scientific and technical advancements, and the identification of customers’ demands for high-quality services.