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SUMMARY:Genome-led vaccine target discovery for parasitic infections - Pro
 fessor Gavin Wright (University of York)
DTSTART:20220518T150000Z
DTEND:20220518T160000Z
UID:TALK173870@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Anna Protasio
DESCRIPTION:The livelihoods of millions of people living in Africa are at 
 risk due to infectious diseases that affect the health of livestock animal
 s which provide them with essential food\, milk\, clothing and draught pow
 er. One major livestock disease is animal African trypanosomiasis (AAT) wh
 ich is primarily caused by two species of blood-dwelling Trypanosome paras
 ites: T. vivax and T. congolense that affect goats\, sheep and especially 
 cattle. AAT is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa and is estimated to cause ann
 ual productivity losses of up to $600 million\, a burden that falls primar
 ily on the poorest. The few drugs that are available to treat AAT are not 
 satisfactory: they cause serious side effects and parasite resistance to t
 hese drugs is increasing. There is a widely-held view that vaccinating aga
 inst these parasites is unachievable due to the presence of a highly abund
 ant parasite cell surface glycoprotein which can serially switch to a larg
 e repertoire of antigenically distinct forms that are clonally expressed. 
 I will show using a systematic genome-led reverse vaccinology approach and
  a murine infection model that vaccinating with non-variant cell surface p
 roteins used as subunit vaccines can attenuate T. vivax infection\, includ
 ing one that is capable of eliciting sterile protection. We will present r
 esearch that describes the discovery of these vaccine candidates and our p
 rogress in understanding the immunological mechanisms of protection that a
 re elicited by this vaccine. \n\nThis talk will be broadcasted via Zoom. P
 lease use this "link":https://zoom.us/j/95026514738?pwd=aUtoam1zbDRYYWU0M1
 Nob2VPQXNvZz09 to gain access. 
LOCATION:Marjory Stephenson Seminar Room\, Hopkins Building\, Dept of Bioc
 hemistry
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