[1061] Adaptive Vaccine Immunology

The aim of our group is to gain a better understanding of vaccine- and pathogen-specific adaptive immune responses in vulnerable populations, such as immunocompromised individuals or in early life. Our goal is to use this knowledge to improve vaccine design and policies, and to develop cellular tests for clinical use.

Currently, our research projects focus on two main areas:

1. The first research axe is to assess the impact of antigenic priming, through vaccination, infection, or neoplasia, on antigen-specific T-cell responses. We were among the first groups to demonstrate robust spike-specific T-cell responses after COVID-19 vaccination in B-cell depleted patients (Madelon N CID 2022, Madelon N, Heikkilä N, JAMA Neuro 2022). We aim to further decipher how booster doses influence T-cell receptor repertoire and T-cell functionality to better understand the role of antigen-presenting B cells in T-cell priming and following memory generation. Based on previous work (Eberhardt CS, Nature 2021) we investigate how the duration and anatomic localization of antigen exposure impact antigen-specific T-cell responses using HPV-mediated neoplasia and HPV vaccination as an in vivo human model. Furthermore, we are focusing on the development of cellular tests for clinical use to evaluate the duration of vaccine responses, particularly in immunocompromised populations, where traditional serological tests may be inadequate.
   
   
2. Our second research axe is to investigate the role of maternal antibodies in protecting neonates. We have demonstrated 1) that neonatal protection against pertussis, in terms of transferred maternal antibodies, is optimal when mothers are immunized during the second trimester compared to the third trimester (Eberhardt CS et al, CID 2016, CID 1017) and 2) that early pregnancy vaccination does not impact maternal antibody avidity (Sartoretti J, CID 2023). We are now investigating the role of maternal antibodies against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in protecting preterm neonates from bronchiolitis and assessing their cellular responses to RSV infection. Our overarching objective is to elucidate how maternal RSV vaccination and monoclonal anti-RSV antibodies modulate adaptive immune responses against RSV during early life.