Vaccines & Immune Biology

Krystal Evans of The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Australia will knock out several proteins that support the expression of the major virulence factor for the malaria parasite. Their aim is create a genetically-attenuated live malaria vaccine that elicits a strong immune response against diverse strains of the parasite.

Stephen Kent and John Stambas of the University of Melbourne in Australia will develop and test an attenuated influenza virus vector with an adjuvant that stimulates natural killer cells. The goal of this approach is to induce robust immunity at mucosal surfaces to HIV, which is important in both prevention and control of infection.

Michel Gilbert of the National Research Council Canada will use the single-celled microorganism T. acidophilum to produce HIV proteins with unique sugar residues found only in archaebacteria such as T. acidophilum. By modifying these glycan structures to ones not recognized by humans, Gilbert hopes to elicit a stronger immune response against the virus.

Michael Lebens of the University of Gothenburg Institute for Vaccine Research in Sweden proposes to develop a new oral cholera vaccine using a single cholera strain that expresses antigens for both the Inaba and Ogawa serotypes and produces cholera toxin subunits that act as an adjuvant to stimulate mucosal immune activity. In this project's Phase I research, Lebens and his team successfully generated potential vaccine candidate strains that express both Ogawa and Inaba type antigens simultaneously.

Jinhee Lee and Gary Ostroff of the University of Massachusetts Medical School in the U.S. will test the idea of delivering small interfering RNA (siRNAs) via glucan particles in an oral TB vaccine formulation. The team will utilize the siRNAs' ability to block immunosuppressive signaling and amplify the immune response.

Nirbhay Kumar of Johns Hopkins University in the U.S. will use a technique called codon harmonization to fully and correctly express a complex malaria gamete surface protein. The sexual stages of malaria parasites have been shown to be particularly vulnerable to antibody targeting. This approach may be able to block the transmission of malaria in insect vectors.

Kailash Patra of the University of California, San Diego in the U.S. will use proteomics to examine gametocyte, zygote, or ookinete surface proteins of the malaria parasite to test their reactivity to human serum collected from malaria endemic regions, and to identify new antigen candidates for malaria vaccines.

Martin Blaser of the New York University School of Medicine in the U.S. proposes to engineer a harmless modification of H. pylori, a bacteria commonly found in the human stomach, to deliver antigens to protect against intestinal pathogens such as cholera and campylobacter. This modified H. pylori can only survive in the presence of an enzyme supplied in special drinking water, allowing those administering the vaccine to regulate its colonization.

Yingjie Lu and Richard Malley of Children's Hospital Boston in the U.S. will develop a bivalent pneumococcal and typhoid vaccine by using a new technology to include three highly conserved pneumococcal antigens and the well-established Vi polysaccharide antigen that provides protection against typhoid fever. The team will test the ability of this vaccine to induce strong humoral and cellular immune responses against both pneumococcus and the causative agent of typhoid fever, Salmonella Typhi.

Kevin Killeen of Matrivax R&D Inc. in the U.S. proposes applying a novel technology which entraps many polysaccharide antigens in a protein matrix. If successful, this prototype platform could increase the breadth of serotypes currently covered by pneumococcal vaccines as well as reduce costs of vaccine production.