Advances in Antiviral Vaccine Development
Event details
| Date | 11.09.2017 |
| Hour | 12:15 › 13:15 |
| Speaker | Prof. Barney S. Graham, NIH, Bethesda, MD (USA) |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
DISTINGUISHED LECTURE IN BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING
(sandwiches served)
Abstract:
Antiviral vaccines have been the most successful biomedical intervention for preventing epidemic viral disease. Vaccination for smallpox in humans and rinderpest in cattle was the basis for disease eradication, and recent progress in polio eradication is promising. Although early vaccines were developed empirically by passage in live animals or eggs, more recent vaccines have been developed because of the advent of new technologies, particularly cell culture and molecular biology. Recent technological advances in gene delivery and expression, nanoparticles, protein manufacturing, and adjuvants have created the potential for new vaccine platforms that may provide solutions for vaccines against viral pathogens for which no interventions currently exist. In addition, the technological convergence of human monoclonal antibody isolation, structural biology, and high-throughput sequencing is providing new opportunities for atomic-level immunogen design. Selection of human monoclonal antibodies can identify immunodominant antigenic sites associated with neutralization and provide reagents for stabilizing and solving the structure of viral surface proteins. Understanding the structural basis for neutralization can guide selection of vaccine targets. Deep sequencing of the antibody repertoire and defining the ontogeny of the desired antibody responses can reveal the junctional recombination and somatic mutation requirements for B-cell recognition and affinity maturation. Collectively, this information will provide new strategic approaches for selecting vaccine antigens, formulations, and regimens. Moreover, it creates the potential for rational vaccine design and establishing a catalogue of vaccine technology platforms that would be effective against any given family or class of viral pathogens and improve our readiness to address new emerging viral threats.
Bio:
Dr. Graham is an immunologist, virologist, and clinical trials physician whose primary interests are viral pathogenesis, immunity, and vaccine development. His work is focused on HIV, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and emerging viral diseases. He has been involved in the clinical evaluation of candidate HIV vaccines for more than 25 years and has an ongoing interest in science education and expanding research opportunities for African-Americans and other under-represented minorities. After graduating magna cum laude from Rice University, he obtained his M.D. from the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 1979. He then completed residency and two chief residencies in internal medicine, a fellowship in infectious diseases, and a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, where he rose to the rank of professor of medicine with a joint appointment in the department of microbiology and immunology. In 2000, he became one of the founding investigators for the NIAID Vaccine Research Center, where he is chief of the Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory and Clinical Trials Core. He is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the American Association of Physicians and a fellow of the Infectious Disease Society of America and the American Academy of Microbiology. He has served on editorial boards for the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Journal of Virology, Journal of Infectious Diseases, and Journal of AIDS and is a member of scientific advisory boards for organizations involved in HIV, RSV, malaria, and TB vaccine development.
(sandwiches served)
Abstract:
Antiviral vaccines have been the most successful biomedical intervention for preventing epidemic viral disease. Vaccination for smallpox in humans and rinderpest in cattle was the basis for disease eradication, and recent progress in polio eradication is promising. Although early vaccines were developed empirically by passage in live animals or eggs, more recent vaccines have been developed because of the advent of new technologies, particularly cell culture and molecular biology. Recent technological advances in gene delivery and expression, nanoparticles, protein manufacturing, and adjuvants have created the potential for new vaccine platforms that may provide solutions for vaccines against viral pathogens for which no interventions currently exist. In addition, the technological convergence of human monoclonal antibody isolation, structural biology, and high-throughput sequencing is providing new opportunities for atomic-level immunogen design. Selection of human monoclonal antibodies can identify immunodominant antigenic sites associated with neutralization and provide reagents for stabilizing and solving the structure of viral surface proteins. Understanding the structural basis for neutralization can guide selection of vaccine targets. Deep sequencing of the antibody repertoire and defining the ontogeny of the desired antibody responses can reveal the junctional recombination and somatic mutation requirements for B-cell recognition and affinity maturation. Collectively, this information will provide new strategic approaches for selecting vaccine antigens, formulations, and regimens. Moreover, it creates the potential for rational vaccine design and establishing a catalogue of vaccine technology platforms that would be effective against any given family or class of viral pathogens and improve our readiness to address new emerging viral threats.
Bio:
Dr. Graham is an immunologist, virologist, and clinical trials physician whose primary interests are viral pathogenesis, immunity, and vaccine development. His work is focused on HIV, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and emerging viral diseases. He has been involved in the clinical evaluation of candidate HIV vaccines for more than 25 years and has an ongoing interest in science education and expanding research opportunities for African-Americans and other under-represented minorities. After graduating magna cum laude from Rice University, he obtained his M.D. from the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 1979. He then completed residency and two chief residencies in internal medicine, a fellowship in infectious diseases, and a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, where he rose to the rank of professor of medicine with a joint appointment in the department of microbiology and immunology. In 2000, he became one of the founding investigators for the NIAID Vaccine Research Center, where he is chief of the Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory and Clinical Trials Core. He is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the American Association of Physicians and a fellow of the Infectious Disease Society of America and the American Academy of Microbiology. He has served on editorial boards for the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Journal of Virology, Journal of Infectious Diseases, and Journal of AIDS and is a member of scientific advisory boards for organizations involved in HIV, RSV, malaria, and TB vaccine development.
Practical information
- Informed public
- Free
Organizer
Contact
- Institute of Bioengineering (IBI, Christina Mattsson)