Weina Sun
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY·Microbiology & Immunology
Vaccines given as a shot in the arm protect well against severe disease, but they do less to stop a respiratory virus from taking hold in the nose and throat, where infection and transmission begin. Antibodies at these wet surfaces (mucosa) — especially IgA, the antibody class specialized for secretions — are thought to be key.
- Fields
Microbiology & Immunology
Biology
- Topics
mucosal immunity
IgA
B cells
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jun 2027
What they work on
- Map when and where antigen-specific IgA- and IgG-secreting B cells arise in mucosa-associated lymphoid tissues of mice after intramuscular mRNA-LNP vaccination and after intranasal Newcastle disease virus (NDV) vaccination encoding Beta-variant spike.
- Test whether injected mRNA-LNP vaccine primes new mucosal B cells near the administration site that recirculate to other mucosal surfaces, by tracking spike-specific B cells with flow cytometry.
- Track redistribution of primed mucosal B cells in photoconvertible Kikume mice, whose light-marked cells change fluorescent color, after an mRNA prime followed by an intranasal NDV boost or by virus infection.
- Compare plasma cell and memory B cell development across stand-alone mRNA, stand-alone NDV, and an mRNA "prime" plus NDV "pull" regimen in wild-type mice of matched genetic background.
More about the research
This project asks how different vaccine platforms and routes prime the B cells that make those antibodies, and where those cells travel afterward.
Why it matters
Stopping transmission, not just severe illness, is the unmet goal for respiratory vaccines. Clarifying whether injected mRNA vaccines seed mucosal B cells, and whether a nasal booster can call them back, could guide how existing COVID-19 vaccines are combined with nasal boosters and how future vaccines against respiratory or intestinal viruses are designed and delivered.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Antonius Oomens
Oklahoma State University, OK·Microbiology & Immunology
Build live single-cycle RSV vaccines that produce abundant viral antigen but cannot spread cell to cell, and therefore cannot revert to virulence even when immunity is suboptimal.
Pamela Wong
University of Michigan, MI·Microbiology & Immunology
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.
Xiaoyang Hua
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, TX·Microbiology & Immunology
Define the immune mechanisms by which a virus infecting only the nose recruits antigen-presenting cells to the lungs and boosts innate and adaptive lung immunity, a process called nose-lung cross talk.
The school
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai: 45 labs on PI Pages, $1.0B a year on research, 62 research doctorates a year.
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