Description:

Title: "The Contributions of CD4 T Cells to Protective Immunity to Influenza Infection"

Andrea Sant, PhD

University of Rochester

Host: Melissa Brown, PhD

Description:

Research focus: Our research seeks to understand the elements in vivo that dictate the selective specificities in CD4 T cells during protective immune responses, and the competitive events that shape selective recognition of foreign and pathogenic organisms in vivo. We are particularly interested in the links between the viral antigen specificity and function of CD4 T cells in response to influenza virus infection and vaccination. Most recently, we have begun to explore influenza virus tropism in the lung and the function of influenza specific CD4 T cells that deliver effector function at this site. To address these research topics, our lab utilizes approaches such as novel, recombinant fluorescent reporter viruses, multiparameter flow cytometry, and different animal models of infection and vaccination . We are also developing vaccine candidates to promote the needed effector function to protect the host against influenza virus infection.