How different COVID-19 vaccines shape immune responses
Official title: Immune phenotyping of human immune responses to SARS CoV-2 vaccination and infection
Funded at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai · NIH-11481643 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project compares immune reactions after mRNA and adenoviral COVID-19 vaccines to learn how long protection lasts and why some people get breakthrough infections or side effects.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | March 22, 2022 |
| Project end | February 28, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $159,598 |
| NIH project number | 5U19AI168631-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11481643 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are people who have received mRNA or adenoviral COVID-19 vaccines, especially those with documented breakthrough infections or vaccine-related side effects, and who can provide blood or other clinical samples.
✕Less likely to help
People who are unvaccinated, have no available pre- or post-vaccine samples, or whose health issues are unrelated to SARS-CoV-2 are unlikely to get direct benefit from this project.
What this research studies
You would be part of work that looks at blood and other samples taken before and after vaccination to see how antibodies and immune cells change over time. The team will compare responses from people who got mRNA vaccines to those who received adenoviral-vector vaccines and will study people who later had breakthrough COVID-19 or strong vaccine side effects. Selected severe cases will get deeper cellular tests to find patterns linked to worse illness. Lab experiments will also use human tonsil tissue treated with vaccine materials to see which cells pick up the vaccine and drive the immune response.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help doctors decide who may need different vaccines or earlier booster shots and improve vaccine safety understanding.
How similar studies have gone: Earlier studies have shown strong antibody and T-cell responses after mRNA and adenoviral COVID-19 vaccines, but directly comparing immune signatures across vaccine types and validating findings in human tonsil tissue adds a newer, less-explored angle.
Where this research is happening
-
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Krammer, Florian — Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Study coordinator: Krammer, Florian
Related research
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How our immune system keeps a memory of vaccines and infections over time
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Understanding how SARS-CoV-2 vaccines affect immune responses
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This study is looking at how different treatments for multiple sclerosis affect how well kids respond to COVID-19 vaccines, so we can better understand how to protect them.
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Understanding how kidney transplant patients respond to COVID-19 vaccination while on specific immunosuppressive therapy
This study is looking at how kidney transplant patients taking a medication called mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) respond to COVID-19 vaccines, and whether stopping this medication before getting vaccinated could help them build a stronger immune response and better protect them against the virus.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.