Project description
Modelling vaccine immunity in older adults
Seasonal influenza causes significant health issues for older adults, as vaccines often provide insufficient protection in this age group. The EU-funded TEaR-flu project will investigate why some older individuals develop stronger immunity than others by studying specialised T follicular helper cells. Using single-cell genomics and sequencing from a clinical cohort, researchers will compare high and low vaccine responders to identify key molecular differences. These findings will be validated through computational analysis and human organoid models. By integrating clinical data, the project aims to create predictive models of vaccine effectiveness. TEaR-flu’s goal is to ultimately identify new targets to improve vaccine efficacy and develop better immunisation strategies for vulnerable populations.
Objective
Seasonal influenza causes significant morbidity and mortality each year, especially among older adults. This is due to reduced vaccine efficacy in this group. Indeed, despite vaccination efforts, many individuals in this age range remain unprotected, highlighting the urgent need to identify factors that influence effective immune responses. This project, TEaR-flu, focuses on antigen-specific T follicular helper (Tfh) cells, the specialised T cell subset that provides help to B cells, to uncover molecular and cellular features that differentiate older individuals who mount strong (high responders, HR) from those who mount weak (low responders, LR) responses to influenza vaccination.
Leveraging a large clinical cohort (~300 older individuals) that will be collected before the start of this proposal, I will stratify participants based on serological responses and perform single-cell transcriptomics and TCR repertoire sequencing on influenza-specific T cells from 40 selected HR and LR individuals. Using computational analyses, I will then identify transcriptional programs and TCR motifs that differ between HR and LR and, consequently, are linked to vaccine immunogenicity. Findings will be validated in silico, using publicly available datasets, and functionally tested in human tonsil organoids, providing mechanistic insights into the drivers of vaccine responsiveness. Finally, a model for vaccine immunogenicity will be developed, considering not only the transcriptional differences but also clinical data from the cohort volunteers.
All together, TEaR-flu is a highly interdisciplinary proposal that combines immunology, single-cell genomics, computational biology, and organoid models to generate predictive models of vaccine immunogenicity and identify potential targets for improved vaccine efficacy and new vaccine strategies.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.4.1 - Widening participation and spreading excellence
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-WIDERA-2025-TALENTS-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1649-035 LISBOA
Portugal
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.