Unlocking Antigen Specificity: Analysis of the Antibody Repertoire in Response to Pathogens and Vaccines
Kosta Tsioris, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
February 10, 2016 @ 12:10 pm to 01:10 pm
210 Hallowell Building, Streaming: W310 Millennium Science Complex
ABSTRACT_____ Antibodies play a major role in the immune system by binding and neutralizing pathogens. B cells produce antibodies. Recombination and mutation events during B cell development can theoretically give rise to approximately 1011 different antibodies in humans, yet only a small subset of the antibody repertoire is antigen specific. Understanding the nature of this antigen-specific antibody response is essential in elucidating basic functions of the immune response to disease and for the development of therapeutics and vaccines. I present here an innovative approach integrating B cell repertoire deep sequencing, microtechnology for single-cell analysis, and bioinformatics to unlock the antigen specific response in the antibody repertoire. I will discuss how we have applied this technology to provide insight into the antibody response to infectious diseases such as West Nile virus and Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Furthermore, with this approach, we identified novel neutralizing antibodies for potential use as therapeutics._ Additionally, we are currently evaluating investigational vaccines for staph and pneumococcal infection. Finally, I will briefly discuss how this analytical approach fits into my vision to develop novel vaccine delivery strategies using biopolymer microneedles and potentially transform mucosal vaccination. _ BIOGRAPHY____ Dr. Konstantinos Tsioris is a National Research Service Award postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Chris Love at the Koch Institute at MIT, Cambridge, MA. He received his Diploma degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Applied Sciences, Regensburg, Germany in 2005, his M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering in 2008 and his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering in 2012 from Tufts University, Medford, MA. For his dissertation, performed in the lab of David Kaplan and Fiorenzo Omenettto, he pioneered strategies for spider and insect silk biopolymer micro-and nanofabrication, with applications in drug delivery, biosensors, and tissue engineering. To expand his skills and knowledge in biomedical engineering and materials sciences, he began postdoctoral training at MIT focusing on immunology of infectious disease, single-cell analysis, and next generation sequencing. Dr. Tsioris received a postdoctoral fellowship from the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for his work analyzing the B cell repertoire in HIV infected individuals. Furthermore, he twice received an award for innovation from Dow Chemicals. His work has been published in journals such as Advanced Materials and Nature Nanotechnology. In addition, popular media such as Scientific American and the Wall Street Journal have featured his work.
Contact
Rachel Taylor
ram59@engr.psu.edu
814-865-1407