David Veesler
University of Washington, WA·Microbiology & Immunology
COVID-19 vaccines were developed at record speed, yet none of the licensed vaccines protects broadly against the wide range of coronaviruses that infect humans. Preparing for future outbreaks requires vaccines that work against both currently circulating betacoronaviruses and distantly related ones.
- Fields
Microbiology & Immunology
Biochemistry
Biophysics
- Topics
coronavirus
SARS-CoV-2
sarbecovirus
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Apr 2028
What they work on
- Characterize how broadly serum antibodies from nonhuman primates immunized with nanoparticle vaccines co-displaying multiple receptor-binding-domain and spike antigens bind and neutralize betacoronaviruses.
- Determine which epitopes cross-reactive serum antibodies recognize, using serological assays and cryo-electron microscopy to directly visualize polyclonal antibodies bound to vaccine-matched and unrelated coronavirus antigens.
- Isolate monoclonal antibodies from immunized nonhuman primates and solve their high-resolution structures with spike, measuring binding, neutralizing and protective breadth.
- Build an antigenic map of conserved targets on betacoronavirus spike trimers, including the more conserved S2 fusion machinery, spanning sarbecoviruses, merbecoviruses and embecoviruses to guide vaccine design.
More about the research
This project tackles a prerequisite for that goal: identifying the exact spots on the virus surface that antibodies can attack across many different coronaviruses.
Why it matters
Coronaviruses have caused repeated human outbreaks, and existing vaccines protect narrowly. Mapping the antibody targets shared across betacoronaviruses could guide the design of vaccines that protect against many coronaviruses at once, including ones that have not yet spilled over into people, supporting pandemic preparedness.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Anthony Bowen
Columbia University, NY·Microbiology & Immunology·Early-career
Test whether immune imprinting from an initial D614G-strain vaccination limits neutralizing antibody responses to Omicron BA.4/5 boosters, using controlled immunization schedules in humanized mice that generate human-like antibodies.
Ian Wilson
Weill Medical College of Cornell University, NY·Microbiology & Immunology
Determine how GT1.1-primed antibodies against the CD4 binding site, the pocket HIV uses to grip host cells, recognize shaping and polishing immunogens, using X-ray crystallography, electron microscopy and biophysical analysis of responses from mice, non-human primates and human trial participants.
Thomas Gallagher
Loyola University Chicago, IL·Microbiology & Immunology
Determine how mutations in the S2 fusion segment of the SARS-CoV-2 spike control the receptor-binding domain and its engagement with receptors, identifying specific variant substitutions that alter receptor reactivity and spike stability.
The school
University of Washington: 81 labs on PI Pages, $1.7B a year on research, 694 research doctorates a year.
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