Stephan Kastner  

Home Institution
Universität Heidelberg

Host Institution
McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
Research Mentor: Jonathan Bramson, PhD

E-Mail: kastner.s@web.de
Research Topic
see Abstract
Personal Reactions to the U.S. Experience
Actually, I can’t tell about the U.S. experience, as I’ve decided to stay in a lab in Hamilton, which is at the very south of Canada, pretty close to Toronto on the one hand, and Niagara Falls and Buffalo on the other. But what I can tell about the Canadian experience I got is that people there are, let’s say, more European-minded than their American counterparts. They have their own views on things like ecology, politics and policies and international relations. Most of the time they differ from the ones predominant in the US. Nevertheless, I also experienced quite a lot of things that I thought were really American, e.g. the Canadian enthusiasm for sports (especially hockey), unhealthy food, and big cars to name just a few.
Greatest Difficulties Encountered
One big surprise to me was the fact that students at Canadian universities are not only quite young, but they also behave like that – especially when you live together with them. Grad students like me usually live off campus and I did so together with some other students. It could be fun to be among other students, but for some of them you could really tell that they didn’t have to help a lot at home when they were still living with their Mom and Dad.
Most humorous incident
A lot of people I met during my stay in Hamilton thought I was from Quebec, because of my “French Canadian accent”. Till today I don’t know what they were talking about…
Helpful Hints for Future Students
- Working in a Canadian lab can be a great experience, especially as work is not defined as 24-7 scientific thinking. However, be sure that you get a good idea of what you can expect from the lab. Sometimes topics change rather quickly and this is not always helpful for you as a student.
- In addition, distances and public transport incomparable to European standards can be a real pain. Luckily, I was living within walking distance of the campus, but there were people in the lab living further away, and they quite had some stories…
- Finally, if you also decide to visit a Canadian lab: Be aware of the very cold winter! I know that this also holds true for some parts of the US, but Canada might be a little more extreme, believe me.

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Abstract on Research Topic

Characterization of immune responses in patients infected with West Nile Virus
Authors: Stefan Kastner

Institution:
McMaster University Hamilton

Background:
West Nile Virus (WNV) belongs to the family of Flaviviridae and was most likely exported from the Middle East to the north American continent in 1999. It is usually transmitted between birds (amplifying host) by mosquitos but humans (among other mammals) can be a so-called dead end hosts: They can get infected with WNV but the virus is not able to be taken up from an infected human via mosquitos. From New York City, its first recognized appearance, it has meanwhile made its way all over the US and big parts of Canada. People infected with WNV can develop mild flue like symptoms termed West Nile Fever. However, about 1 in 100 patients develops a neuroinvasive disease called West Nile meningitis or encephalitis.
The overall goal of our study was to compare immune responses from people infected with WNV. Blood was taken from infected donors enrolled in the study at different time points over the course of one year. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of infected donors were isolated and then Vbeta spectratyping was performed. This should in principal allow us to identify clonotypic differences in the T cell repertoire between patients at different time points of the disease. In the end, immune responses characterized in this respect should be compared between patients of different age and different disease progression.

Materials and Methods:
PBMCs from West Nile Virus infected patients were harvested at different time points during progression of the disease. In order to characterize the clonotypic T cell response by Vbeta spectratyping, antigen specific cells were first isolated and RNA was isolated. After transcription into cDNA, Vbeta specific primer sets were used to amplify the respective variable regions of the human T cell receptor beta chain. Fluorescent labelling of these amplification products followed by their size separation resulted in characteristic spectra.