Objective
I will establish how abnormal B cell behaviour contributes to the generation of HIV neutralising antibodies by studying B cell biology: Previous studies show that broadly neutralising HIV antibodies are the most highly-mutated human antibodies ever isolated, with unusually long binding loops and polyreactivity, suggestive of changes to B cell tolerance and germinal centre selection mechanisms. These remarkable antibodies develop only during HIV infection, concurrent with immune dysfunction, not following vaccination. Crucially, the cellular processes whereby these antibodies arise need to be elucidated and I hypothesize that doing so using RNAseq, flow cytometry and imaging B cell activation will answer why only a minority of HIV+ individuals develop neutralization breadth. Moreover, B cell dysfunction is associated to a range of malignancies and autoimmune diseases and, while much has been learnt from model antigens in mouse models, HIV infection provides a uniquely well-characterised human model to study B cell regulation. Another fundamental question is whether strain-specific antibodies are a stepping-stone to breadth, or a detour that must be eliminated in vaccination. I have shown that the best serum neutralization activity induced via stabilized HIV envelope protein immunization predominantly targets a strain-specific glycan hole, similar to many early responses observed in infection before broad neutralising activity develops. Therefore, I will determine whether non-neutralising and strain-specific antibodies affect the development of breadth by isolating a range of antibodies raised during viral infection from individual donors and comparing binding affinities, clonal ontogenies and B cell receptor activation. Defining the impact of competition between antibody specificities during HIV infection will be directly translatable to developing vaccines for other pathogens where cross-reactivity is a key factor such as Influenza, Dengue and Zika viruses.
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.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology immunisation
- medical and health sciences health sciences infectious diseases RNA viruses influenza
- medical and health sciences health sciences infectious diseases RNA viruses HIV
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs vaccines
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules carbohydrates
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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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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
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.
ERC-STG - Starting Grant
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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) ERC-2017-STG
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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.
WC1E 6BT LONDON
United Kingdom
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.