How immune memory adapts to new COVID-19 variants
Official title: Immune memory to SARS2 in a changing landscape
Funded at La Jolla Institute for Immunology · NIH-11377297 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are tracking how people's immune systems remember and respond to COVID-19 after different combinations of vaccinations and infections.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | La Jolla Institute for Immunology NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (La Jolla, United States) |
| Project start | March 11, 2019 |
| Project end | February 28, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $514,688 |
| NIH project number | 5U19AI142742-08 |
| Project ID | NIH-11377297 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults who have had one or more COVID-19 vaccinations or infections and who can provide regular blood samples or donate larger volumes by leukapheresis are ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People who cannot give blood, are unwilling to travel to the study site, or have no history of COVID-19 vaccination or infection may be less likely to benefit directly.
What this research studies
You would join a long-term effort that follows over 450 volunteers to see how T cell memory changes after multiple COVID-19 vaccinations and infections. The team collects regular blood samples and, for some people, larger leukapheresis donations, and follows participants through variant waves like Delta and Omicron. They also enroll household pairs where one person had a breakthrough infection and the other did not to compare immune responses directly. The work maps how repeated exposures shape protection against different parts of the virus over several years.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help improve vaccine strategies and identify immune responses that offer broader, longer-lasting protection.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research shows T cells play an important role in COVID-19 immunity, but few long-term studies have followed large groups across multiple vaccine doses and variant infections like this project does.
Where this research is happening
-
La Jolla Institute for Immunology
La Jolla, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sette, Alessandro — La Jolla Institute for Immunology
- Study coordinator: Sette, Alessandro
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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.