Stuart Levitz
University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, MA·Microbiology & Immunology
Cryptococcosis is an infection caused by Cryptococcus neoformans and C. gattii, yeasts wrapped in a protective sugar capsule.
- Fields
Microbiology & Immunology
Medicine & Clinical Research
- Topics
Cryptococcus neoformans
Cryptococcus gattii
cryptococcosis
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jun 2027
What they work on
- Test how well each of seven recombinant cryptococcal proteins, combined with the adjuvant CAF01, protects mice against virulent Cryptococcus strains found around the world.
- Measure lung CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses, including memory cells, in vaccinated mice, and test whether vaccines still protect mice with weakened CD4+ T cells, a model of HIV.
- Determine the role of antibodies in vaccine protection using gain-of-function and loss-of-function experiments in mouse models of cryptococcosis.
- Compare human T cell responses to the candidate antigens in blood immune cells (PBMCs) from people with and without cryptococcosis, then choose and test a three-antigen CAF01 vaccine in mice.
More about the research
It is the most common cause of culture-positive meningitis worldwide. Nearly 200,000 people die from it each year, most of them living with HIV. No vaccine exists. T helper cells, immune cells that coordinate the body's defenses, are central to fighting the infection. This project aims to move a subunit vaccine toward human testing. A subunit vaccine uses selected pieces of the pathogen rather than whole organisms. The vaccine would protect at-risk groups, such as people with HIV, transplant recipients and residents of areas where the fungus is common.
Why it matters
A cryptococcal vaccine could prevent a fungal meningitis that kills nearly 200,000 people a year. It could especially help people with HIV, organ transplant recipients and residents of areas where the fungus is common. The work could also provide proof-of-principle lessons for designing T cell–based vaccines against other diseases.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Wendy Watford
University of Georgia, GA·Microbiology & Immunology
Identify which immune cell types are required for protection when CD4+ T cell-deficient mice, a model of AIDS, are vaccinated with ZNF2oe, a harmless filament-forming Cryptococcus strain that overproduces the Znf2 regulator.
Jessica Hargarten
Rutgers University-New Brunswick, NJ·Microbiology & Immunology·Early-career
Characterize how deficiency in MTOR, the signaling enzyme that senses nutrients and controls immune cell growth and metabolism, affects susceptibility to Cryptococcus infection using established murine models of pulmonary and central nervous system cryptococcosis.
James B Mclachlan
Tulane University of Louisiana, LA·Microbiology & Immunology
Determine how intradermal immunization with the detoxified enterotoxin adjuvant dmLT combined with bacterial outer membrane vesicles directs vaccine-specific T cells to mucosal tissues, tracked with MHC class I and II tetramers.
The school
University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School: 29 labs on PI Pages, $350M a year on research, 55 research doctorates a year.
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