Henry Lowman Director: Antibody Engineering Profile | Education/Background | Top Scientific Papers | Awards & Honors

"I came to Genentech as a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellow in 1989 to work with a prominent protein engineer — Jim Wells — and jumped at the opportunity to continue research in the Department of Protein Engineering as a scientist in 1992 and senior scientist in 1998. Antibody engineering became a key focus of my lab's research because of the tremendous potential this field offers for developing safe and effective drugs. I was excited to have the opportunity to lead Genentech's Antibody Engineering department when it was organized in 2003."

Current Projects "Identifying an antibody that binds to a disease-related antigen, whether by classical hybridoma technology, transgenic mice, or in vitro diversity techniques, is often the start of a process to develop a candidate molecule for clinical trials. Our work includes use of phage display and structure-based design to discover and engineer higher-affinity, higher-specificity, and sometimes cross-reactive antibodies. We also investigate targeting strategies for antibodies."

Collaborations "Collaborations with other Research groups, such as Immunology and Molecular Oncology, as well as Development groups, have included projects such as anti-CD20, anti-IgE, and anti-VEGF antibodies."

Inspiration/Vision "Genentech is a great place to do research because of the commitment, broad expertise, and collaborative spirit of scientists throughout Research and Development. As new tools are developed for relating clinical responses to molecular properties, we hope to surgically engineer specific properties based on a better understanding of mechanisms of action and perhaps tailor antibodies to the needs of specific patient populations."