Project description
Antiviral immune responses: a battle of the sexes
Men who test positive for COVID-19 are more likely to require intensive care than women are. They are also more likely to die. The evidence points to sex differences in immune responses to viral infection. In search of answers, the EU-funded SHIFT project will study sex-specific regulation of immune responses. By studying the immune system of individuals as they undergo sex reassignment therapy with sex hormones, the project will explore the contribution of sex hormones to human antiviral immune function. The identification of sex hormone regulated pathways in antiviral immunity will be valuable for vaccine design, antiviral therapies and immunomodulatory therapies.
Objective
COVID-19 severity and mortality are consistently higher in men than women. Still, the mechanisms that underlie sex differences in human antiviral immunity remain poorly understood. Therefore, investigating sex-specific regulation of immune responses is a critical step for developing novel and effective antiviral therapies. The overarching goal of SHIFT is to dissect the precise contribution of sex hormones to human antiviral immune function by studying the immune system of individuals as they undergo sex-reassignment therapy with sex hormones. The three specific aims proposed are 1) to evaluate the sex hormone contribution to viral infection susceptibility, 2) to characterize sex hormone effects on the immune-microbe interactions and balance, and 3) to assess sex hormone effects in antiviral immune responses during infection. SHIFT will combine the experienced researcher’s advanced knowledge in sex hormone regulation of immune function and metabolism, with the host lab’s state-of-the-art multi-omics technologies, advanced expertise in systems immunology analysis and established collaborations in Sweden. Aims will be achieved during a planned 24-month training at Karolinska Institutet that involve technical training (sample collection and processing), analytical training (integrative computational analysis and statistics), and development of transferrable skills (project management, mentoring, leadership and communication). The two-way transfer of knowledge in SHIFT will lead to implementation of new techniques, mentoring of trainees, and identification of sex-hormone regulated pathways in antiviral immunity that will be valuable for vaccine design, antiviral therapies and immunomodulatory therapies at large. Further, the MSCA fellowship will provide a strong training path in systems immunology to lead the fellow towards academic independence in the EU and support her career goals of becoming an investigator studying immunological basis of disease susceptibility.
Fields of science
- social sciencessociologydemographymortality
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicineimmunology
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesinfectious diseasesRNA virusescoronaviruses
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugsvaccines
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugsantivirals
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinator
17177 Stockholm
Sweden