Pamela Wong
University of Michigan, MI·Microbiology & Immunology
Vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind Covid-19, still face hard problems: protection from coronaviruses tends to fade quickly, new variants escape existing immunity, older adults respond weakly, and some earlier coronavirus vaccines raised concerns about worsening disease. A large part of the answer lies in the adjuvant, the ingredient added to a vaccine to strengthen and shape the immune response it produces.
- Fields
Microbiology & Immunology
Medicine & Clinical Research
Biology
- Topics
SARS-CoV-2
Covid-19
vaccine adjuvant
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through May 2027
What they work on
- Profile the immune responses raised by the combined nanoemulsion plus RIG-I-agonist adjuvant paired with multiple SARS-CoV-2 antigens, comparing injection and mucosal routes, to identify optimal formulations and delivery.
- Test the hypothesis that simultaneously engaging Toll-like, RIG-I-like and NOD-like receptor pathways yields stronger antibody and TH1-biased cellular immunity than single-pathway adjuvants.
- Measure protective efficacy and safety of lead vaccine formulations in SARS-CoV-2 challenge models, checking specifically for signs of vaccine-associated enhanced disease.
- Define correlates of protection against SARS-CoV-2 by linking measured immune features to protection outcomes in challenge studies.
More about the research
This project asks whether an adjuvant that imitates the alarm signals of a real viral infection can produce stronger, longer-lasting protection. Cells sense viruses through several families of innate receptors, molecular sensors that set off the body's first-line defenses; the grant names Toll-like, RIG-I-like and NOD-like receptors. The plan combines a nanoemulsion-based adjuvant that engages Toll-like receptors and the NLRP3 inflammasome with an RNA molecule that triggers the RIG-I sensor. The team reports that activating these pathways together produces a synergistic response weighted toward TH1-type cellular immunity, the arm of the immune system that helps clear virus-infected cells, and has preliminary data showing the approach improves influenza vaccination.
Why it matters
Covid-19 continues to cause serious illness and death, and existing vaccines lose ground against new variants and work less well in older and immune-challenged people. An adjuvant that produces broader and longer-lasting protection, and that can be combined with different vaccine designs, could improve coverage for those groups while avoiding the vaccine-associated worsening of disease seen with some earlier coronavirus vaccines. The work may also clarify which immune responses actually predict protection.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Carol Gilchrist
University of Virginia, VA·Microbiology & Immunology
Optimize the systemic and mucosal immune responses raised by prototype vaccines based on the Cryptosporidium antigens Cp17, Cp23, and CpSMP delivered in liposomes with toll-like receptor agonists, immune-alarm triggers that boost antibody and cellular responses.
R. Chinthrajah
Stanford University, CA·Medicine & Clinical Research
Recruit, enroll, and follow adult volunteers in studies of influenza and SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and infection, obtaining ethics approvals and protecting participants' rights.
Anthony Bowen
Columbia University, NY·Microbiology & Immunology·Early-career
Test whether immune imprinting from an initial D614G-strain vaccination limits neutralizing antibody responses to Omicron BA.4/5 boosters, using controlled immunization schedules in humanized mice that generate human-like antibodies.
The school
University of Michigan: 124 labs on PI Pages, $2.1B a year on research, 963 research doctorates a year.
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