Vaccines
Development of novel vaccine candidates
There are no sufficiently protective vaccines against TB and leprosy available. Both vaccines that prevent infection and vaccines that prevent progression to disease are urgently needed. In our lab, we investigate several novel strategies to target host immunity. Specifically, we investigate HLA-E as novel candidate antigen presentation molecule to be targeted by vaccination. We identified multiple Mtb sequences that can be presented by HLA-E and characterized the T-cells that recognize these.
As an alternative approach new formulations of Mtb antigens combined with novel adjuvant formulations are developed and tested in preclinical such as live Mtb challenge models applying various (humanized) mouse strains.
Evaluation of novel vaccine candidates
Novel vaccine candidates are first evaluated in experimental and preclinical models, however, our laboratory in collaboration with the vaccination outpatient department has also run multiple first in man, phase 1a – phase 2a safety and efficacy trials for novel TB (subunit) vaccine candidates. In these studies, sample collection, processing as well as the immunological analyses were performed in our laboratory.
Immunomonitoring of clinical studies
Our strong background in immunology of infectious diseases permits detailed assessment of vaccine induced immune responses, for novel vaccine candidates as well as for novel applications of well-known vaccines such as BCG. Our laboratory also contributes to monitoring of clinical vaccination studies performed by other institutes worldwide, including extensive (spectral) flowcytometric phenotyping as well as functional effector response measurements using the Mycobacterial Growth Inhibition Assay (MGIA). We are also involved in the exploratory analysis of (BCG) vaccination effects against emerging infections such as SARS-CoV2.