Janke Schinkel

Hepatitis C virus molecular epidemiology and correlates of immunity

Each year 400.000 persons die of liver disease as a result of a chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The WHO aims to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health problem by achieving a 90% reduction in new infections by the year 2030. The HCV group wants to contribute to this ambitious goal by studying correlates of protection in well-defined patient cohorts to facilitate vaccine design. Taking advantage of monoclonal antibodies discovered in the context of this work, we are also working on a so urgently needed point-of-care test. Last but not least we try to stop the local epidemic of HCV among men who have sex with men by studying transmission networks to guide public health interventions (https://mstrace.nl/)

Collaboration creates synergy and opportunities for success: we benefit greatly from the excellent vaccine (immunology) and viral evolution groups in our department headed by Marit van Gils, Rogier Sanders and Colin Russell.

Research team

Head of the team

Janke Schinkel, MD PhD, Associate Professor

Janke Schinkel studied Medicine at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. She has done her Ph.D. research on Hepatitis C virus genetic heterogeneity at Leiden University Medical Center combining this with a residency in Medical Microbiology. Since 2004 she works as a staff-member Medical Microbiologist / Clinical Virologist at the Academic Medical Center, becoming Head of Clinical Virology in 2008. She continues to combine clinical work with research and managerial duties, currently as ‘chef de laboratoire’ and deputy head of the department.   

Her research focuses on Hepatitis C virus, but also involves other emerging pathogens and flaviviruses. She is a Vidi and Aspasia laureate of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).

Team Members
  • Ana Chumbe Mendoza, MSc. PhD student) studying and the role of neutralizing antibodies in protection from (chronic) reinfection in sexually transmitted HCV among men who have sex with men
  • Laura Radic, MSc, PhD Student, working on bispecific antibodies
  • Jelle Koopsen: MSc, PhD Student, studying transmission networks by real-time molecular surveillance
  • Ian Zon: technician, characterising monoclonal antibodies
  • Cas Osfirdink, MD, PhD student, works on the national Celine project which aims to identify HCV infected patients that are lost to follow-up to try to get them into care for treatment

Other members of the HCV group are  Kwinten Sliepen, post-doc in the group of Rogier Sanders, who works on an  E1E2 HCV vaccine, Joan Capella Pugol who works on HCV germline antibodies  and Marit van Gils who is the B-cell immunology brain in the HCV group

News & Publications

Read our narrative on HCV transmission and the use of PrEP among men who sex with men and explore HCV sequences. 

Recent publications: 

Koopsen J, Parker E, Han AX, van de Laar T, Russell C, Hoornenborg E, PrinsM, van der Valk M, Schinkel J. Hepatitis C Virus Transmission Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Amsterdam: External Introductions May Complicate Microelimination Efforts. Clin Infect Dis. 2021 Jun 15;72(12):e1056-e1063. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa1830. PMID: 33289036.

Isfordink CJ, van de Laar TJW, Rebers SPH, Wessels E, Molenkamp R, Knoester M, Baak BC, van Nieuwkoop C, van Hoek B, Brakenhoff SM, Blokzijl H, Arends JE van der Valk M, Schinkel J. Direct-Acting Antiviral Treatment for Hepatitis C Genotypes Uncommon in High-Income Countries: A Dutch Nationwide Cohort Study Open Forum Infect Dis. 2021 Jan 6;8(2):ofab006. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofab006. PMID:33614815; PMCID: PMC7881754.

Kalemera MD, Capella-Pujol J, Chumbe A, Underwood A, Bull RA, Schinkel J, Sliepen K, Grove J. Optimized cell systems for the investigation of hepatitis C virus E1E2 glycoproteins. J Gen Virol. 2021 Jan;102(1):jgv001512. doi:10.1099/jgv.0.001512. PMID: 33147126; PMCID: PMC8116788.

Smit C, Boyd A, Rijnders BJA, van de Laar TJW, Leyten EM, Bierman WF, Brinkman K, Claassen MAA, den Hollander J, Boerekamps A, Newsum AM, Schinkel J, Prins M, Arends JE, Op de Coul ELM, van der Valk M, Reiss P; ATHENA observational cohort. HCV micro-elimination in individuals with HIV in the Netherlands 4 years after universal access to direct-acting antivirals: a retrospective cohort study. Lancet HIV. 2021 Feb;8(2):e96-e105. doi:10.1016/S2352-3018(20)30301-5. Epub 2020 Dec 22. PMID: 33357835.

 A full list of Janke Schinkel’s publications can be found here

Contact
Janke Schinkel, MD PhD
Email: j.schinkel@amsterdamumc.nl