BME Distinguished Seminar Series with Darrell Irvine

Darrell Irvine, Ph.D., is a Professor at the Scripps Research Institute, where
he recently relocated after 20 years as a faculty member at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. His research is focused on the application of engineering tools to problems in cellular immunology and the development of new materials for vaccine and drug delivery. Major efforts of the laboratory are directed toward vaccine development for HIV and cancer immunotherapy. Dr. Irvine's work has been recognized by numerous awards, including election as a Member of the National Academy of Medicine, Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society, Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and appointment as an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He is the author of over 200 publications, reviews, and book chapters and an inventor on numerous patents.

Engineering germinal center responses for next-generation vaccines

Vaccines are the most effective public health intervention ever developed and have saved millions of lives from infectious disease. However, effective vaccines remain elusive for challenging pathogens such as HIV, and the development of vaccines capable of cross-strain protective immunity against pathogen variants are desired for current and future viral threats. Effective vaccines stimulate germinal center (GC) reactions where B cells proliferate and mutate their antigen receptors, leading to a diverse pool of memory B cells and plasma cells producing protective antibodies. Despite its central role in the development of humoral immunity, we poorly understand how vaccines can be designed to modulate the GC response. We recently explored roles for vaccine adjuvants and antigen-displaying nanoparticles in shaping the germinal center reaction.