This week we profile a recent publication in Cell Reports from the laboratory of Dr. Leonidas Stamatatos (pictured) at Fred Hutch.
Can you provide a brief overview of your lab’s current research focus?
Our group at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center investigates B cell responses to infection and vaccination. We are particularly interested in monitoring the activation, survival, and maturation of B cell clonal lineages that produce protective antibodies against infectious agents. New immunogens and immunization regiments are developed to target these rare B cell lineages and are validated in vivo. To obtain the broadest and most detailed understanding of the immune responses elicited by our vaccine candidates, we employ diverse experimental approaches, including structure-based immunogen-design, X-ray crystallography, next generation deep sequencing, and immunological, molecular, and cellular techniques. The lab’s work encompasses the entire space between pre-clinical and clinical evaluation of candidate vaccines.
What is the significance of the findings in this publication?
The study provides information that is critical for the upcoming Phase I clinical trial of one of our HIV vaccine immunogens. The trial will be conducted by the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and is scheduled to begin in 2021.
What are the next steps for this research?
Define the immunization regiment, dosage and adjuvant formulation that will elicit the most optimal immune responses.
This work was funded by:
The study was funded by the NIH/NIAID.
