Center for Vaccines and Immunology - January, 2018
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Director’s Notebook
The Center for Vaccines and Immunology Welcomes 2018!
The CVI looks forward to another exciting year of scientific discoveries. The second phase of the CVI was completed in August, 2017. This new space hosts the CVI Core Facilities and the laboratory of Dr. Jarrod Mousa. His laboratory continues the builds upon the CVI mission to facilitate basic and translational research that addresses the science of vaccines, as well as the critical need for new/improved vaccines and associated technologies for both existing and emerging diseases. To read more about the CVI, please see:
http://vet.uga.edu/cvi
.
In November, 2017, the CVI welcomed three new Research Faculty as Assistant Research Scientists. And this month, the CVI adds, Dr. Michelle A. Booden to the CVI Faculty, where she will serve as the UGA Director of Partnership Alliances and Business Development for Biomedical Sciences. All these new faculty are highlighted below.
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During its first year, CVI Faculty, Staff, and Students made significant contributions in Scientific Publications. Some of the 22 citations published in 2017 are highlighted below.
Wei H, Chen Z, Elson A, Li Z, Abraham M, Phan S, Kristhnamurthy S, McCray PB Jr, Andrews S, Stice S, Sakamoto K, Jones C, Tompkins SM, He B. Developing a platform system for gene delivery: amplifying virus-like particles (AVLP) as an influenza vaccine. NPJ Vaccines. 2017 Nov 20;2:32.
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Samet SJ,
Tompkins SM. Influenza pathogenesis in genetically defined Resistant and Susceptible murine strains. Yale J Biol Med. 2017 Sep 25;90(3):471-479.
Mooney AJ, Gabbard JD, Li Z, Dlugolenski DA, Johnson SK, Tripp RA, He B, Tompkins SM. Vaccination with Recombinant Parainfluenza virus 5 expressing neuraminidase protects against homologous and heterologous influenza virus challenge. J Virol. 2017 Nov 14;91(23). pii: e01579-17.
Zanin M, Koçer ZA, Poulson RL, Gabbard JD, Howerth EW, Jones CA, Friedman K, Seiler J, Danner A, Kercher L, McBride R, Paulson JC, Wentworth DE, Krauss S, Tompkins SM, Stallknecht DE, Webster RG. Potential for low-pathogenic avian H7 influenza A viruses to replicate and cause disease in a mammalian model. J Virol. 2017 Jan 18;91(3). pii: e01934-16.
Freyberg Z, Harvill ET. Pathogen manipulation of host metabolism: A common strategy for immune evasion. PLoS Pathog. 2017 Dec 7;13(12):e1006669.
Dewan KK, Taylor-Mulneix DL, Hilburger LJ, Rivera I, Preston A, Harvill ET. An extracellular polysaccharide locus required for transmission of
Bordetella bronchispetica
. J Infect Dis. 2017 Oct 17;216(7):899-906.
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Taylor-Mulneix DL,
Bendor L, Linz B, Rivera I, Ryman VE, Dewan KK, Wagner SM, Wilson EF, Hilburger LJ, Cuff LE, West CM, Harvill ET.
Bordetella bronchispetica
exploits the complex life cycle of
Dictyostelium discoideum
as an amplifying transmission vector. PLoS Biol. 2017 Apr 12;15(4):e2000420.
Hamidou Soumana I, Linz B, Harvill ET. Environmental origin of the genus
Bordetella
. Front Microbiol. 2017 Jan 24;8:28.
Moehling KK, Nowalk MP, Lin CJ, Bertolet M, Ross TM, Carter CE, Susick M, Saul SG, Kaynar AM, Bromberger JT, Zimmerman RK. The Effect of frailty on HAI response to influenza vaccine among community-dwelling adults >50 years of age. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2017 Nov 27:1-7.
Kirchenbaum GA, Allen JD, Layman TS, Sautto GA, Ross TM. Infection of ferrets with influenza virus elicits a light chain biased antibody response against hemagglutinin. 2017. J. Immunol. 199(11):3798-3807.
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Nuñez
IA,
Carlock
MA, Allen
JD, Owino
SO, Moehling
K, Nowalk
MP, Diagle
K, Sweeney
K, Mundle
S, Vogel
TU, Delagrave
S, Ramagopol
M, Zimmerman
RK, Kleanthous H, Ross TM.
Impact of age and pre-existing influenza immunity in humans on the elicitation of anti-hemagglutinin antibodies receiving split inactivated influenza vaccines. 2017. PLoS One. 12(11). E0185666.
Carter DM, Darby CA, Johnson SK, Carlock MA, Kirchenbaum GA, Allen, JD, Vogel TU, Delagrave S, DiNapoli
J, Alefantis, T, Kleanthous H, Ross TM. Elicitation of protective antibodies against a broad panel of H1N1 viruses in ferrets pre-immune to historical H1N1 influenza viruses. 2017. J Virol. 91(24). Pii: e01283-17.
Wong TM, Bebin-Blackwell A-G., Allen JD, Park B, Carter DM, Kleanthous H, Alefantis, T, Ross TM. H3 COBRA hemagglutinin vaccines elicit antibodies with hemagglutinin-inhibition (HAI) activity against a diverse panel of H3N2 influenza viruses. 2017. J Virol. 91:24. Pii: e01581-17.
Keef E, Zhang LA, Swigon D, Urbano A, Ermentrout GB, Matusewski M, Toapanta FR, Ross TM, Parker R, Clermont G. Discrete dynamical modeling of influenza infection suggests age-dependent differences in immunity. 2017. J Virol. 91(23).
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Allen JD,
Owino SO, Carter DM, Crevar CJ, Evers T, Fox CB, Coler RN, Reed SG, Baldwin SL, Ross, TM. Broadened immunity and protective responses with an emulsion-adjuvanted H5 COBRA VLP vaccine. 2017. Vaccine. 35(38):5209-5216.
Kirchenbaum GA, Ross TM. Generation of Monoclonal Antibodies against Immunoglobulin Proteins of the Domestic Ferret (
Mustela purtorius furo
). J Immunol Res. 2017. 5874572. doi: 10.1155/2017/5874572.
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The CVI Collaborates with the
UGA Clinical Trials Research Unit (CTRU)
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The Center for Vaccines and Immunology and the UGA Clinical Trials Research Unit are jointly collaborating on projects that aim to benefit human health by improving knowledge, disease prevention and treatments. If you are interested in signing up for a study at the CTRU,
These studies will continue into the Spring Semester, so please feel free to participate by calling 706-713-2721 or visiting this link:
Immune Response to Influenza Vaccine
- Participants: Men and women ages 18-90 who do not have any autoimmune disorders and are not on steroid or immune system-suppressing medications, and weigh over 110 lbs. Participants must be willing to get a flu shot and should not have already received the current season flu shot, and participants must not be pregnant. We are currently recruiting our returning participants from last year and a limited number of individuals new to the study this year. Participants will receive the influenza vaccination and undergo three or four blood draws on different days.
Children’s Immune Response to Influenza Vaccination
- Participants: Children ages 12-17 who do not have any autoimmune disorders and are not on steroid or immune system-suppressing medications, and weigh over 110 lbs. Participants must be willing to get a flu shot and should not have already received the current season flu shot, and must be willing to complete two blood draws. A parent will also need to accompany child to visits and complete questionnaires as part of the study.
These studies are accompanied by two survey studies.
Survey Study on Stressful Life Experiences and Vaccine Responses
- One Survey is in collaboration with Dr. Katherine Erlich, an Assistant Professor of Psychology in the Behavioral and Brain Sciences Program. This study focuses on how stressful life experiences, including stressors that occurred early in life as well as ongoing stressors, are associated with participants’ antibody response following influenza vaccination. The measures for our study assess socioeconomic status during participants’ childhoods, exposure to early life adversity (e.g., chaos in the home, abuse, neglect), current perceived stress, current relationship quality, and depressed affect.
Survey Study on Vaccine-related Knowledge, Beliefs, and Behaviors
- And the Second Survey is in collaboration with Dr. Glen Nowak, a Professor of Advertising and Public Relations and director of the Grady College’s Center for Health and Risk Communication. This study focuses on influenza vaccine/vaccination-related knowledge, beliefs, and recent behaviors of participants in a research study and to assess vaccination and influenza vaccine-related confidence of participants Identify the health decision-making preferences of participants in a research study that involves getting an influenza vaccine, including the ability to compare participants’ preferences to those of a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults.
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The CVI Appreciates the Support of the Georgia Research Alliance
The CVI continues to appreciate the support from the Georgia Research Alliance with two features on the CVI. Select the link below “Our Fight Against the Flu” to see a short 3:22 minute video on the CVI.
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Select Link to watch Video on the CVI
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And you never know who you will see on your next flight.
GRA sponsored advertisement in the November 2017, Delta Airlines Sky Magazine
featuring the Center for Vaccines and Immunology at the University of Georgia
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Meet the CVI Team: S. Mark Tompkins, PhD
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Posted by:
Erica Hensley
The only CVI faculty member hired from within UGA, Dr. Tompkins has been at the College of Veterinary Medicine since 2005.
As a member of the Emory-UGA Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (CEIRS), funded by the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, his work focuses mostly on human and zoonotic influenza. (The Emory-UGA Center is one of six nationwide that is funded by the NIH to help prevent pandemic flu.) Tracking influenza from emergence to treatment, his lab focuses on how varying species are susceptible to influenza, as well as the evolution of the virus.
Much of his research has direct agricultural application, as Dr. Tompkins tracks the spillovers across vectors, like that of the 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak that evolved from avian, swine and human strains. He says predicting the next outbreak means thinking outside of the box to anticipate how the virus will mutate across populations. Understanding the viral fitness at each stage helps Tompkins develop targets for intervention.
“That outbreak reinforced what we knew as a research community, that swine is a classic mixing vessel, but it raised concern and research interest,” he said. “The more we know about what’s going on in swine populations, the better off we are in terms of public health and also the direct impact on swine productions.”
Dr. Tompkins also focuses on antiviral drug development and novel influenza vaccines that don’t require a continuous chain of cold storage for preservation—a major concern for sustainable vaccine development.
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Center for Vaccines and Immunology and the University of Georgia
Welcomes Dr. Michelle A. Booden as the newest Faculty Member
Director of Partnership Alliances and Business Development for Biomedical Sciences
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Dr. Michelle A. Booden is joins the CVI faculty as the Director of Partnership Alliances and Business Development for Biomedical 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 work closely with UGA’s Innovation Gateway and Business Development 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 the vaccine and drug candidate pipeline.
Dr. Booden was recruited from the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California where she was the Senior Director of Technology Transfer Office, Director of licensing and intellectual, property, and registered patent agent background and experiences that make her uniquely qualified to lead this position. Dr. Booden is developing a long-term vision and strategic plan for Center and for UGA’s biomedical faculty with the focus on leveraging faculty’s technologies, resources, and expertise in biomedical research to identify and realize business opportunities that provide strategic and financial returns.
If you are interested in discussing opportunities, please schedule an appointment with Dr. Booden by contacting her at: 706-542-2441 or
[email protected]
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Congratulations to new Research Faculty in the CVI
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Dr. Maria T. Arévalo
received her PhD in Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Rochester where she studied the direct and indirect effects of dengue viral infections, in the presence or absence of dengue-immune human sera, on human vascular endothelial cells. She joined Texas Tech University in El Paso as a postdoctoral fellow in 2011 where she focused on developing vaccine and molecular therapies against influenza virus and anthrax. In 2014, she joined Dr. Ted Ross’ laboratory as a postdoctoral research associate first at the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute of Florida and then at the University of Georgia’s Center for Vaccines and Immunology where she is now an assistant research scientist. Dr. Arévalo leads the Emerging Infectious Diseases program in the CVI that includes development of virus-like particle based vaccines against chikungunya, dengue, and Zika Virus. She also serves as the Zika Program Manager overseeing various human cohorts in the Caribbean islands of Puerto Rico, Trinidad, St. Kitts, & Dominica to assess immune responses and identify biomarkers of disease in Zika-, Dengue-, and Chkunguyna-infected populations. She is currently an Assistant Research Scientist in the CVI
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Dr. Anne-Gaelle Bebin-Blackwell
received her PhD in 2009 in Immunology, from the French University of Limoges studying B cells development in the mouse and the role of enhancer in class switching and immunoglobulin expression on B cells. She went on to Montana State University in Bozeman, MT as a postdoctoral researcher, where she focused on the interaction between the category B pathogen
Coxiella burnetii
and its infection of macrophages, concentrating on the role of TLRs in the infection of the lungs. She worked with Prof. Rafick Sekaly at the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute in Florida developing vaccine to stimulate latent CD4 T cell in AIDS patients before joining Dr. Ted Ross’ Laboratory, first at the Vaccine Gene Therapy Institute and then at University of Georgia, developing and improving vaccine against Influenza virus. She is currently an Assistant Research Scientist in the CVI and the CVI Antibody Core Director
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Dr. Greg Kirchenbaum
received his doctorate in Immunology from the University of Colorado, Denver. His graduate work focused on the role of surface B cell receptor (BCR) down-modulation and the peripheral tolerance mechanism of anergy. In 2013, Dr. Kirchenbaum became a member of the Ross lab at the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute of Florida (VGTI-FL), and then transitioned with the lab when it relocated to the University of Georgia. Since joining the lab, Dr. Kirchenbaum has researched the B cell response elicited by influenza infection and/or vaccination in both ferrets and humans. His work aims to enhance our understanding of how prior influenza exposure shapes the B cell and antibody repertoires following secondary infection or vaccination. Additionally, he is working to develop reagents that will enable in-depth characterization of the B cell response elicited in ferrets. She is currently an Assistant Research Scientist in the CVI and the ARI Core Director and lead CEIRS Investigator for the CVI.
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Center for Vaccines and Immunology
2018 Spring Seminar and Work-in-Progress Series
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Wednesdays, 11am-12noon
Paul D. Coverdell Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences
Room S175
The Center for Vaccines and Immunology will host 8 Seminars and Work-in-Progress Presentations during the Spring Semester.
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University of South Carolina
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Dr. Constantinos Kyriakis
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UGA – Infectious Diseases
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Dr. Erica Ollmann Saphire
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Scripps Institute – La Jolla, CA
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Center for Vaccines and Immunology
Annual Symposium:
Host Responses to Respiratory Pathogens
The Center for Vaccines and Immunology will host its second annual
Scientific Symposium
entitled
Host Responses to Respiratory Pathogens
at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education and Hotel on
April 24-25, 2018.
The Symposium
will bring together world-renowned researchers to Athens to present, review, and discuss
the host responses to bacterial, viral, fungal pathogens, the effect the respiratory microbiome plays in infection, and strategies to address therapeutics, vaccines, and public health.
Over the two-day event,
150-175 researchers are expected to attend. Twenty invited speakers have accepted Oral Presentations. If you are interested in presenting an Oral or Poster Presentation at the Symposium, please contact the CVI Director for more information. More information coming soon.
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Center for Vaccines and Immunology
Translational Vaccine Unit
The CVI started operating four Core facilities as part of its Translational Vaccine Unit in August, 2017. The first four pieces of equipment listed below are CVI Operated. These instruments are available for studies.
BD FACS ARIA Fusion - Michael Carlock
ForteBio Octet Red – Anne Bebin-Blackwell
AKTA Protein Purification – Greg Kirchenbaum
Bio-RAD Luminex – Anne Bebin-Blackwell
All four of these instruments are associated with an hourly per diem. Please contact these Operators directly for assistance, scheduling time, and completing billing forms prior to use.
Tel: 706-542-3214.
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Check out the November, 2017 issue of UGA TODAY
and an article Dr. Karen Norris’ lab research
Healthy people don’t get
Pneumocystis pneumonia.
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