Immune responses that protect against hepatitis C to guide vaccine design
Correlates of protective immunity to HCV and rational vaccine design
This project looks at how immune memory from past hepatitis C infections helps people clear the virus and how that knowledge could guide vaccine plans for people at risk.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Emory University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Atlanta, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11400153 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers follow people who inject drugs over time, using blood samples taken before, during, and after hepatitis C infection and after reinfection to watch how the immune system responds. The team tracks memory CD4+ T cells, B cells, and neutralizing antibodies to see which responses speed viral clearance. They compare people who clear the virus naturally to those who develop persistent infection to find immune patterns linked to protection. The goal is to use those patterns to point vaccine developers toward immune responses that might prevent lasting hepatitis C.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are people at high risk for hepatitis C exposure, particularly adolescents and young adults who inject drugs or people with prior HCV exposure who can donate longitudinal samples.
Not a fit: People with no risk of hepatitis C exposure or with liver conditions unrelated to HCV are unlikely to see direct benefits from this work.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point the way to a vaccine that prevents long-term hepatitis C infection, especially for people at high risk of reinfection.
How similar studies have performed: Previous vaccine efforts that focused mainly on T cell responses have not prevented persistent HCV, so combining insights about B cells and neutralizing antibodies represents a newer and partly untested approach.
Where this research is happening
Atlanta, United States
- Emory University — Atlanta, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Grakoui, Arash — Emory University
- Study coordinator: Grakoui, Arash
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 below.