Center for Vaccines and Immunology - April 2018
Director’s Notebook

On February 15, 2017, a film crew from The Documentary Group from NYC visited the Center for Vaccines and Immunology. Led by Director Steve Rivo, the team interviewed Drs. Mark Tompkins and Ted Ross and filmed various members of the CVI for the documentaries on Influenza, Smallpox, and Ebola. The series, entitled Invisible Killers , aired on March 29, 2018 on the Discovery and Science Channels and several members of the CVI were featured. It was an amazing experience for us all.
 The series can be seen online at: www.sciencechannel.com
Naoko Uno - Graduate Student
Giuseppe Sautto -
Post-doctoral fellow 
Maria Arévalo -
Asst. Research Scientist
Michael Carlock -
CVI Research Director
Strategic Alliances & Business Development
Dr. Michelle A. Booden is the Director, Strategic Alliances & Business Development for the Biological Sciences .   Dr. Booden has extensive experience in leading and managing the Business Development, as well as overseeing the function of Intellectual Property Management. She will help you and your organization to identify technologies appropriate for new company formation and provide strategies for de-risking and attracting investment capital, including identifying technologies that complement the University’s current intellectual property and negotiating technology combination deals with non-profit organizations. Dr. Booden has a track-record of identifying and strategically developing revenue streams from biopharmaceutical companies and other non-grant sources that sustain and expand your candidate product’s pipeline.
 
If you are interested in discussing opportunities,
please schedule an appointment with Dr. Booden by contacting her at:
706-542-2441 or  MICHELLE.BOODEN@uga.edu
 
Phoenix Award
The Phoenix award represents the iconic "rising from the ashes" of the Phoenix, a symbol of strength, tenacity and leadership and is presented to celebrate the best Industry and Academics collaboration. The two Georgia honorees will have forged academic and industry relationships that will drive translation and lead to new treatments and cures
 
The Center for Vaccines and Immunology received the Phoenix Award, presented jointly to the CVI and Sanofi Pasteur. Recipients of the Phoenix Award, sponsored by the Metro Atlanta Chamber and celebrating the best in industry and academic collaboration, have forged academic and industry relationships that drive translation and lead to new treatments and cures.
The awards were presented at the 2018 Georgia Bio Life Science Health Impact Award s in Atlanta. Dr. Ted M. Ross accepted for the CVI and Dr. Harry Kleanthous accepted for Sanofi Pasteur.
Each year Georgia Bio recognizes achievement and honors excellence in the life sciences industry in Georgia, as it brings together nearly 300 of the state's life sciences industry leaders. Now in its 20th year the 2018 Georgia Bio Life Science Health Impact Awards will be a celebration of the contribution and achievements of Georgia individual & company leaders working to advance the growth of the life sciences industry and foster strategic partnerships that can create a healthier world.
UGA Symposia on Host Responses to Respiratory Pathogens
The Center for Vaccines and Immunology will host the Symposia on Host Responses to Respiratory Pathogens on April 24-25, 2018 at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education and Conference Center. The Symposia will focus on assessing the state of the respiratory host-pathogen interactions and microbiome for the designs of improved therapeutics, vaccines, and public health. Twenty renowned leaders from academics, government, and the pharmaceutical industry in the field of respiratory immunology, infectious disease and vaccine development will give Oral Presentations. Fifty researchers are presenting poster abstracts at the Reception scheduled for Tuesday, April 24th 4-6pm.
 
The Symposia on Host Responses to Respiratory Pathogens will build on the success of the previous symposia held in March, 2017 entitled Symposia on Influenza Viral Diversity, where 160 individuals participated from around Georgia, as well as nationally and internationally. The 2018 Symposia will explore the latest viral, bacterial, and fungal respiratory pathogens that infect the lungs and respiratory tract, the interaction with the host microbiome, and the immune reaction to infection in these specialized tissues. Research on harnessing the processes and translating the data into new therapeutics, vaccines, pharmaceuticals, as well as control strategies, diagnostic techniques will be presented and discussed among participants at the Symposia. The experimental research data has a direct bearing on the epidemiological and economic impact for the residents in the United States and around the world. The conference will also address emerging issues in infectious disease research, respiratory immunology, public and veterinary health.
 
The Symposia kicks-off with two renowned Keynote Speakers. 
Liise-anne Pirofski, MD is chief of the division of infectious diseases at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine from the Bronx, NY. She received her BA from the University of California and her MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She trained in Internal Medicine at Bellevue Hospital and NYU Medical Center and in Infectious Diseases at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center after which she did post-doctoral training at Einstein. Her NIH funded research programs, which focus on immunity to encapsulated microbes, have led to new discoveries and provided novel paradigms to understand antibody immunity and pneumococcal and cryptococcal pathogenesis. She is an editor of mBio and Infection and Immunity, has served on numerous advisory committees, task forces, and NIH study sections, including as chair, and was IDSA chair of the inaugural IDWeek meeting. She is a member of the American Association of Physicians (AAP) and the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM), and a fellow of the American College of Physicians (FACP), the Infectious Diseases Society of America (FIDSA), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). In addition to her roles as a physician-scientist and division chief, Dr. Pirofski is deeply devoted to biomedical education, mentoring and teaching. She has received the American Society for Microbiology William Hinton Mentoring Award, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine Faculty Mentoring Award and the Harry Eagle Award for Outstanding Basic Science Teaching, and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine Alumni Association Lifetime Achievement Award.
Jeffrey N. Weiser, MD is the Chief of the Department of Microbiology at New York University, School of Medicine, in New York, NY. His lab investigates the molecular basis of host-pathogen interaction for agents that reside in and infect the human respiratory tract. Most studies focus on the pathogenesis of Streptococcus pneumoniae because of its prominence as a cause of acute respiratory tract infection. Other pathogens under investigation in the laboratory have included  Haemophilus influenzae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus , and Influenza A. Many projects focus on colonization of the mucosal surface of the upper airway, the initial step in the disease process. Both host and bacterial factors affecting colonization are under investigation. In general, these studies utilize bacterial genetics to examine effects of specific microbial genes together with mouse models of colonization that allow for the use of genetically-modified hosts.
SERVICES AVAILABLE FOR CHARACTERIZATION OF ANTIBODIES & PROTEINS
Biomarker and Immunology Core at the Center for Vaccines and Immunology
The CVI, in conjunction with The Bioexpression and Fermentation Facility ( BFF ) in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, is pleased to announce that we offer protein and antibody characterization services in collaboration with the Biomarker and Immunology Core at the Center for Vaccines and Immunology at UGA. These services will utilize the Octet Red system which uses biosensors that take advantage of biolayer interferometry to determine binding of proteins or small molecules through shifts in interference on the sensor. The system can determine binding affinities or simply quantify a protein in a complex mixture. We would be happy to setup a free consultation to discuss how this new technology can help your research.
The following sensors are available.
•   Anti-GST (GST). For Quantitation and Kinetic Characterization of GST-tagged Biomolecules
•   Aminopropylsilane (APS) Biosensors. For Hydrophobic Immobilization of Proteins
•   Anti-Penta-His (HIS1K). For Label-Free Quantitation and Kinetic Analysis of His-Tagged Recombinant Proteins
•   Anti-hIgG FC Capture (AHC). For Label-Free Immobilization and Subsequent
•   Kinetic Characterization of Human IgG or other Human Fc-containing Proteins
•   Anti-mouse IgG FC capture (AMC). For Immobilization and Subsequent Kinetic
•   Characterization of Mouse IgGs and other Fc-Containing Proteins
•   Protein A (ProA). For Determination of Antibody Concentration
•   Protein G (ProG). For Determination of Antibody Concentration
•   Streptavidin (SA). For Kinetic Analysis, Screening, and Quantitation of Most Biotinylated Proteins
Cent er for Vaccines and Immunology
2018 Spring Seminar and Work-in-Progress Series
Wednesdays, 11am-12noon
Paul D. Coverdell Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences, Room S175
The Center for Vaccines and Immunology has 2 Se minars and Work-in-Progress Presentations remaining for the 1 st half of 2018.
April 11:
June 1:
Dr. Maria Arévalo
Dr. Erica Ollman Saphire
UGA - CVI
Scripps Institute - La Jolla, CA
After a break during the summer, the CVI Seminars and Work-in-Progress Presentations will resume during the Fall Semester.
IN THE NEWS

Ross: We need a better influenza vaccine

UGA researcher Ted Ross shares his thoughts on the future of flu prevention
Courtney Murdock (left), CVI Affiliated Faculty and Assistant Professor with a joint appointment in the Odum School of Ecology and the College of Veterinary Medicine, is working with colleagues in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais to study how temperature impacts the spread of the Zika virus among disease-carrying mosquitos.
UGA recognized for international collaboration
UGA one of eight universities nationwide recognized for international collaboration.
Cellular biology professor Rick Tarleton named Regents’ Professor at UGA

Athens, Ga. – Rick Tarleton, Distinguished Research Professor and University of Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor in Biological Sciences in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and a CVI Affiliated Faculty member has been named Regents’ Professor, effective July 1.