Award
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases 1F31AI200404-01
Extrafollicular Memory B Cell Responses During Influenza Infection
Recipient
Johns Hopkins University
Award Amount
$50,114.00
Ceiling
$50,114.00
Awarded
May 27, 2026
Identifier
1F31AI200404-01
The award supports research at Johns Hopkins University to study extrafollicular memory B cell responses during influenza infection, aiming to understand their role in broad and heterosubtypic immunity, which may inform future vaccine strategies.
Description
This project aims to test the hypothesis that the extrafollicular response (EFR) generates a broadly reactive antibody pool, functionally preserved in the EFR derived memory B cell compartment, providing heterosubtypic immunity both locally in the respiratory tract and systemically. The research involves using single-cell CITE-seq with antigen barcoding of B cells from influenza virus infected mice to determine the breadth and depth of the virus-specific B cell repertoire of plasmablasts and memory B cells, and testing the functional potential of extrafollicular memory B cells in recall responses using adoptive cell transfer and challenge of recipient mice.