Frederik Banch Clausen1, Jin Ye Yeo2
1Department of Clinical Immunology, Section 2034, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark; 2AOB Editorial Office, AME Publishing Company
Correspondence to: Jin Ye Yeo. AOB Editorial Office, AME Publishing Company. Email: aob@amegroups.com
This interview can be cited as: Clausen FB, Yeo JY. Meeting the Editorial Board Member of AOB: Dr. Frederik Banch Clausen. Ann Blood. 2024. Available from: https://aob.amegroups.org/post/view/meeting-the-editorial-board-member-of-aob-dr-frederik-banch-clausen.
Expert introduction
Dr. Frederik Banch Clausen (Figure 1) received his master’s degree in molecular biology from Copenhagen University in 2002. In 2004, he joined the Blood Bank, Department of Clinical Immunology, at the Copenhagen University Hospital in Copenhagen. He received his PhD in 2010 on the topic of noninvasive prenatal testing of fetal RHD in pregnant, RhD negative women. He was then appointed head of the Laboratory of Blood Genetics in 2010. Dr. Clausen received a higher doctoral degree (DMSc) in 2016 for his thesis also on the topic of fetal RHD genotyping.
Dr. Clausen has contributed to the development of assays for noninvasive testing of fetal blood groups in pregnant women and was instrumental for the implementation of a national antenatal screening service in Denmark to guide the targeted use of prophylaxis in pregnant, RhD negative women.
Dr. Clausen’s main focus is cell-free DNA (cfDNA). He is a member of the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT) and the working party for Red Cell Immunogenetics and Blood Group Terminology where he heads the subgroup on cfDNA. Dr. Clausen is also president of the international conference series on cfDNA, held every second year in Copenhagen, Denmark. He has 20 years of experience in the field of blood transfusion and more than 60 peer reviewed publications on primarily cfDNA testing.
Figure 1 Dr. Frederik Banch Clausen
Interview
AOB: What drove you into the field of blood genetics? Could you share what inspired you to dedicate your research focus towards cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and noninvasive prenatal testing?
Dr. Clausen: As a biologist, I have a general passion for biology, and genetics offer such a fantastic entry to so many different aspects of biology as well as medical science. I started working with cfDNA by accident, and I was soon captivated by its prospects and by the, at that time, existing skepticism towards whether cfDNA testing could ever be used as a clinical tool. As the clinical potential was obvious, it became a goal for me to make such noninvasive testing possible and reliable enough to be implemented in clinical routine to the benefit of patients. While working at the Blood Bank, it was a key part of our work to try to improve safety and conditions for pregnant women, so the focus on fetal RHD genotyping using cell-free fetal DNA was a natural starting point. In my first years working with cfDNA, I received tremendous help from other scientists abroad, who had succeeded with their analyses, especially from Dr. Kirstin Finning, from Bristol, England.
AOB: How has the landscape of noninvasive applications of cfDNA changed over the years? Are there any new findings that hold significant promise for future applications of cfDNA?
Dr. Clausen: cfDNA testing has evolved substantially over the last 20 years. It started with fetal blood grouping which was implemented clinically in 2001. Approximately 10 years later, the use of cfDNA testing expanded in the area of prenatal care. Thereafter, cancer diagnostics using analysis of tumor-derived cfDNA evolved. Recently, the field of transplantation has demonstrated great promises for using donor-derived cfDNA as a noninvasive marker of organ status in transplanted patients.
The field has evolved both in extent of applications and in the complexity of analysis in parallel with technological developments—going from a single-gene detection by simple polymerase chain reaction (PCR), such as fetal RHD genotyping, to deeper sequencing-based approaches such as noninvasive prenatal testing for fetal aneuploidies, to even more complex testing methods involving detection of epigenetics, tissue-type origins, and fragmentomics, as presented by Prof. Dennis Lo’s group.
It will be interesting to follow how the transplantation field can use cfDNA to improve organ monitoring, and to demonstrate a measurable effect for patients. Also, it is interesting to always follow how new biological findings may provide new possibilities for future applications.
AOB: As the President of international meeting series on cfDNA, what do you think is the most important contribution that these meetings make to the global cfDNA community? In what ways do the meetings facilitate the exchange of new and interesting ideas and best practices among professionals in the field?
Dr. Clausen: The cfDNA meetings serve multiple purposes. Firstly, they provide overview of current and future practices of cfDNA testing across different fields, including oncology, prenatal care, transplantation, and fetal blood group genotyping. This setup is unique, and the different experiences from different fields provide the scientific community with important inspiration. Simultaneously, our sponsors present the newest commercially available solutions from their stands. New technologies have been a key driver in this field, so this is an important contribution to the meetings as well. Secondly, the cfDNA meetings provide the opportunity for discussing science among peers and share knowledge. This is a key part of the meetings. In different ways, we seek to enhance this opportunity. One example is the Special Discussion Workshop where scientists, medical doctors, and lab technicians meet before the actual conference and spent several hours discussing specific topics. These discussions are then further linked to work done in the cfDNA Subgroup of the Red Cell Immunogenetics and Blood Group Terminology Working Party, as part of the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT). Thirdly, we try to secure opportunities for upcoming scientists and students. Oral presentations from the audience are included into the program. Furthermore, these meetings are single tracked, and most often attended by less than 200 people which gives an intimate atmosphere that further promotes inter-action and discussions. For the cfDNA2025 Meeting, we have a new President, Dr. Sofie Lindgren Christiansen, who will chair the scientific committee and set the program.
AOB: What research gaps do you see remaining in the field of cfDNA and noninvasive prenatal testing, and could you offer insights into prospective research directions to address them?
Dr. Clausen: cfDNA testing relies on a structural component, which could be regarded as a limitation. It may be fruitful to consider a functional aspect of cfDNA testing and cfDNA studies. In the future, I thus think we might benefit from addressing more complex approaches of cfDNA testing. We might take a leap into a more comprehensive testing setup as well as seeking to combine such testing with additional test systems such as proteomics or similar.
Another important element is the development of new technologies. This may allow novel ways to assess cfDNA, novel approaches for cfDNA testing, and thus novel ways to answer important biological and clinical questions.
AOB: Could you share some of the ongoing projects you are currently involved in, and how they will impact the field? Are there any challenges during the research process?
Dr. Clausen: I am involved in researching and implementing donor-derived cfDNA testing as a noninvasive marker of organ status in transplanted patients. I think this field has a promising future ahead. One challenge that needs to be thoroughly addressed is the measurability of its clinical impact.
I am also involved in looking at correlations between cfDNA in pregnant women and risks for later development of disease. I think this is a highly interesting research area. In addition, I am also involved in more practical assessments of basic pre-analytical and analytical aspects and how they may impact testing reliability, which are highly important activities for assay robustness in a clinical setting.
AOB: You have recently led a special series on “Blood Group Genotyping” for AOB. Which of the subtopics in this special series do you think could be further studied in the future?
Dr. Clausen: First of all, I would like to thank AOB for suggesting this special series, and I would also like to thank all the contributing authors for their efforts. I think this series and adjacent series from AOB are really important.
There are different topics that I find relevant for future studies. For example, the complexity of blood groups and how that impacts the testing strategy of blood groups is an ongoing study objective. Also, exploring the power of new technologies, including DNA sequencing and digital PCR, is a topic which will need further studies. Hopefully, the latter may provide solutions for the former.
AOB: How has your experience been as an Editorial Board Member of AOB?
Dr. Clausen: It has been excellent. It has allowed me to expand my contribution to the field. It has given me a valuable experience. And I have received great feedback from peers concerning the special series that I was involved in.
In addition, I find that the journal is well organized and propels a great enthusiasm for science. The papers in the journal are important, relevant, and of high scientific standard.
AOB: As the Editorial Board Member, what are your expectations for AOB?
Dr. Clausen: I find that AOB has a refreshingly novel approach to running a journal, creating excellent overviews of various topics in transfusion medicine. I expect AOB to continue this great work, but also to further develop the engagement with original research papers to serve as a scientific hub in academia.