Mapping the Antibody Response with Unprecedented Resolution

Current antibody assays are akin to viewing the Earth from 30,000 feet: You can see the broad landscape, but not the fine details. We are bringing the view of the antibody response down to the molecular level to understand exactly how our bodies fight influenza. Whereas standard assays measure total antibody inhibition, they fail to show how many epitopes are targeted on the virus nor the strength of those interactions. This lack of resolution is vital, as individuals that only target a single site are highly susceptible to viral escape mutations. We are employing a combination of experimental and computational techniques to quantify when influenza vaccination broadens the antibody repertoire to target multiple, non-overlapping epitopes that are resilient to escape mutants. Our goal is to leverage vaccines to not only create more antibodies, but create a diverse and resilient immune landscape that hinders viral escape.