Immune memory after COVID-19, vaccination, and other respiratory infections
Official title: Human immune memory to COVID-19, vaccines, and respiratory pathogens
Funded at La Jolla Institute for Immunology · NIH-11377291 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how people's immune systems remember COVID-19, vaccines, and similar respiratory infections to help improve protection.
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) | $2,573,442 |
| NIH project number | 5U19AI142742-08 |
| Project ID | NIH-11377291 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants include people who have had COVID-19 or who have received COVID vaccines and are willing to provide blood samples and health information over time.
✕Less likely to help
People whose medical needs are unrelated to respiratory infections or who cannot give blood samples are unlikely to gain direct benefit from participating.
What this research studies
You would be asked to give blood and brief health information so researchers can measure antibodies and immune cells. Scientists at the La Jolla Institute will compare immune memory in people who've had COVID, people who received different vaccines, and people exposed to other respiratory germs. They will use lab tests that count B cells, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and antibody levels and will follow participants over months or years to see how protection changes. That information will be used to understand who keeps good protection and to guide booster timing and better vaccine designs.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help identify who needs boosters, improve vaccine schedules, and guide design of longer-lasting COVID and respiratory vaccines.
How similar studies have gone: Earlier La Jolla Institute and other studies have already shown clear T and B cell responses to COVID and vaccines, so this work builds on successful, well-established findings.
Where this research is happening
-
La Jolla Institute for Immunology
La Jolla, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Crotty, Shane P — La Jolla Institute for Immunology
- Study coordinator: Crotty, Shane P
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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.