Dr. Ross conducts research in vaccinology, immunology and virology with emphasis on vaccine development. His focus is designing vaccines against viral pathogens such as influenza, dengue, zika, chikungunya, HIV, respiratory syncytial viruses. With emphasis on designing vaccines for various ages (neonates, elderly) and vaccines associated with immunocompromised and pregnant individuals. Dr. Ross’ team has established pre-clinical models of seasonal and pandemic influenza virus infections and vaccination for H1, H2, H3, H5, H7, H9, and influenza B, as well as age-related, pre-existing immunity, and transmission models. In addition, we have designed pre-clinical models for dengue, zika, chikungunya, rift valley fever virus, respiratory syncytial virus infections. Dr. Ross’ laboratory is using these models to understand the pathogenesis of these diseases and test preventive vaccines and treatments. Lastly, Dr. Ross’ team has established clinical vaccination models and cohorts to study influenza, dengue, yellow fever and zika virus infections in people from the age of 2 to 90 years of age, as well in pregnant women. Immunological, proteomic, genomic, metabolomics assessments of human samples collected following vaccination.
Dr. Tompkins’ research focuses on understanding the emergence, pathogenesis, prevention, and treatment of influenza viruses. These studies include surveillance for influenza virus in animal populations, susceptibility to influenza infection, and influenza virus evolution. Areas of research include dissecting virus-host interactions at the cellular and host level and exploiting these interactions to collaboratively develop novel vaccines, antiviral drugs, and treatments for human and animal use. Dr. Tompkins’ team has established several animal models of human, avian, and swine influenza virus infection, including emerging viruses requiring BSL3 biocontainment. His laboratory utilizes mouse, ferret and swine models of infection to understand the host response to infection and vaccination, as well as assessing vaccine and therapeutic efficacy.
Dr. Norris conducts research in immunology and infectious diseases with emphasis on vaccine and immunotherapeutic development. Her focus is on infections associated with immunocompromised individuals, age-related host immunity, inflammatory diseases and on the pathogenesis of HIV-related co-comorbidities. Dr. Norris’ team has established pre-clinical models of Pneumocystis pneumonia, respiratory syncytial virus infection and complex cardiopulmonary diseases including pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Dr. Norris’ laboratory is using these models to understand the pathogenesis of these diseases and test preventive vaccines and treatments.
The Mousa Laboratory is interested in elucidating the molecular mechanisms by which the human immune system combats these pathogens. We use a wide-range of translational approaches to study the molecular interactions mediating antibody neutralization of infectious pathogens. We study the human antibody response to select pathogens utilizing approaches to isolate human monoclonal antibodies as potential therapeutics, and determine their mechanism of action using biochemical, immunological, and structural approaches such as X-ray crystallography. These efforts are informing the design of next-generation vaccines and therapeutics. Currently, we are focusing our efforts on the respiratory pathogens respiratory syncytial virus, human metapneumovirus, the parainfluenza viruses, and Streptococcus pneumoniae.
Dr. Joyner conducts research on the parasite Plasmodium vivax, which is a major cause of malaria – a life-threatening mosquito-borne disease responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths globally each year. P. vivax remains a major obstacle for malaria elimination, due to its ability to form dormant stages in the liver. These forms can become activated to cause relapsing blood-stage infections. Relapses in human patients remain poorly understood, because it is difficult to verify whether P. vivax blood-stage infections are due to new infections or relapses.
Dr. Sautto’s research is focused on the selection, cloning, characterization and engineering of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), especially of human origin, and directed against infectious agents. In particular, the potential of these mAbs is investigated as possible drugs, able to directly neutralize infectious pathogens, or as indirect molecules to be exploited for the development of prophylactic approaches. Moreover, their possible engineering in order to improve (i.e. their binding or stability characteristics) or gain new functions (such as in the case of chimeric antigen receptors, CARs), represents a promising and alternative approach for difficult-to-eradicate infectious pathogens.
Dr. Blackwell’s goal is to study and develop a neuraminidase supplement to the vaccine. She is currently developing a neuraminidase hybrid based on computationally optimized methods and assessing efficiency of neuraminidase activity by enzyme-linked lectin neuraminidase inhibition assay. As neuraminidase plays a role in influenza and bacterial co-infection leading to an increase mortality in humans, these studies prove determinant to improve efficacy of the vaccine by introducing a broad and strong response via neuraminidase antibodies.
Dr. De Groot is board certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases. She is the volunteer Medical Director and currently practices Internal Medicine at the Clinica Esperanza (Hope Clinic), a free clinic for residents who do not have health insurance. Prior to EpiVax, she was a professor at Brown University, where she established the TB/HIV Research Lab. The laboratory attracted a range of intelligent and creative Brown University undergraduate and graduate students who worked with Dr. De Groot on projects ranging from improving healthcare for inmates living in correctional facilities in the United States, improving access to care in West Africa, and developing cutting edge tools for analyzing protein sequences and designing vaccines.
Dr. Moise received his PhD from the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Biochemistry at Brown University in Providence, RI in 2002. His research in Dr. Edward Hawrot’s laboratory focused on structure-function relationships of snake neurotoxin interactions with the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. Dr. Moise’s postdoctoral training at Brown University involved functional analysis of toxin binding sites engineered into toxin-insensitive ion channels. In 2005, he joined Dr. Anne De Groot’s laboratory at Brown University as an Instructor in Medicine in the Department of Medicine (Infectious Disease) to study T-cell epitope-driven vaccination and protein therapeutic immunogenicity. He currently focuses on T-cell epitope-driven vaccine development using a genomes-to-vaccine approach that combines immunoinformatic and immunologic methods. Additionally, his research efforts comprise de-immunization of protein therapeutics by epitope modification.