Protective anti-viral immunity – learning from natural examples

About this project

Recent data has shed light on the critical role of specific antibody effector profiles in combatting infectious diseases. However, certain features that are protective for certain pathogens may be ineffective or even detrimental in other contexts. Thus, to gain a comprehensive understanding of protective pathogen-specific responses, it is crucial to deeply analyze human cohorts to learn from natural examples of effective immune responses. Our research will utilize a systems immunology approach to thoroughly characterize protective antibody responses in different human cohorts of individuals who have either been naturally infected or vaccinated. By employing this approach, we can examine a range of biophysical properties, such as subclass and isotype distribution, Fc receptor binding, as well as innate effector functions like phagocytosis and cytotoxicity to identify specific characteristics of protective immunity.