Research
Research Focus
Vaccines and Immunotherapies to Improve Global Health
Our group does research across a range of projects, including clinical trials of vaccines, antiviral therapies, and monoclonal antibodies as well as observational studies using genomic epidemiology.
HIV Vaccine Research
A vaccine to prevent HIV is still urgently needed. Our group is a member of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network, and our specialty is the phase 1, first-in-human clinical trials of novel HIV vaccine concepts. We conduct our studies in people living with and without HIV, with the goal of improving all aspects of HIV treatment and prevention.
SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Dynamics
It is critical to understand the dynamics of viral replication and transmission in order to develop effective vaccines and immunotherapies to prevent infections. Such dynamics include knowing the incubation period of infection, the magnitude and duration of viral shedding, the infectiousness of the virus, and how any of these factors differ between viral variants. Our group has used SARS-CoV-2 as a starting point to explore these dynamics, with an eye towards how pre-existing immunity (whether through infection or vaccination) can influence how viruses replication and transmit.
COVID-19 Vaccines
Our group has been involved with developing COVID-19 vaccines since the first SARS-CoV-2 sequence was released in January, 2020. Since then we have conducted trials involving mRNA vaccines, viral-vectors and protein-based vaccines. And there is still a lot of work to be done in order to improve COVID-19 vaccines, like making "variant-proof" vaccines as well as improving the durability of immune responses. Our group is currently focused on bringing some of these next-generation COVID-19 vaccines to human studies.
