Program in Developmental and Molecular Immunity

To achieve our overall objective of developing vaccines for infectious diseases, especially those of children, we study, uncover, and re-evaluate clinical, epidemiologic, and immunologic data. We evaluate investigational vaccines suitable for clinical study in experimental animals and then submit them to the Institutional Review Board and the FDA for evaluation of their safety and immunogenicity in adults, children, and infants, and, finally for efficacy. Surface polysaccharides of Gram-negative pathogens, capsules, or lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) are essential virulence factors and protective antigens. Immunogenicity of polysaccharides can be improved by binding to carrier proteins. Bacterial toxins or toxoids and viral capsid proteins may be protective antigens and may serve as carrier proteins.

Resources

• Employee Listing
• E-Mail the Lab: schneerr@exchange.nih.gov

Units and Sections

• Section on Bacterial Disease Pathogenesis and Immunity
  Head: Rachel Schneerson