Award
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases 5R01AI170897-04
Mobilizing TAP-independent CD8 T cells through non-canonical cross-presentation
Recipient
Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, United States
Award Amount
$676,900.00
Ceiling
$676,900.00
Awarded
December 31, 2025
Identifier
5R01AI170897-04
The project aims to understand and mobilize TAP-independent CD8 T cells through a novel non-canonical cross-presentation pathway to enhance immune response against immune evasive viruses, informing universal vaccine design and therapies for chronic viral infections.
Description
This project will study unique CD8 T cells that have the potential to confer cross-protection against different virus variants and immunity against persistent immune evasive viral infection. Understanding the requirements for the generation of these CD8 T cells, characterizing their phenotype and function, and creating new tools to track them during an immune response to infection is important to expand our immune armament against viruses. Our studies will inform the design of much needed universal vaccines against existing and emerging viruses, and guide new therapies for chronic viral infections.