... "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
Robert Frost 1874-1963
How does the immune system recognize foreign pathogens? What are the molecular mechanisms of bio-recognition? How do B-cells target viral antigens and generate antibodies that bind and knock-out the virus? Can we apply the atomic structures of antibodies complexed with their viral targets to rationally design new vaccines?
The repertoire of antibodies in our serum - the IgOme, is a detailed record of our immunological history telling us what viruses we have encountered and how we have responded to clear them. How can we profile the repertoire of antibodies in polyclonal serum? Can we use this profile to improve blood transfusion safety? Can profiling the IgOme teach us what constitutes effective neutralizing immunity against evasive viruses such as HIV?
We must out-wit viruses such as HIV, HCV, SARS, MERS, Dengue, Zika and influenza. Through novel - out of the box - approaches we aim to answer these questions and provide practical solutions towards virus detection and development of novel prophylactic vaccines.
