Grant number: U19-AI089987
Principal Investigator: A. Karolina Palucka, MD, PhD
Funding Organization: National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases
Project Start: June 1, 2010
Project End: May 31, 2015
Abstract: This Center is based at the Baylor Institute for Immunology Research at Dallas, Texas and is composed of five academic research centers and one Biotech Company that are located in five states. The Center focuses on analyzing the immune responses to vaccination of several cohorts of healthy individuals of different age groups from 5 to 65 years and several cohorts of hyporesponsive individuals including patients suffering from autoimmune diseases (systemic lupus erythematosus and juvenile dermatomyositis), patients suffering from end stage renal disease, HIV infection and patients who have undergone autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation. Three vaccines will be studied in great detail: inactivated influenza vaccine and hepatitis B vaccine with either alum as the traditional adjuvant (Engerix) or with CPG-oligonucleotide (Heplisav).
We hypothesize that:
- Systems biology approaches will permit us to gain a comprehensive view of the immunobiology associated with a potent response to vaccination.
- This will lead to the identification of biomarker signatures indicative of the quality of vaccine-induced antibody responses.
- This in turn will facilitate the rational design and development of novel improved vaccines.