A. G. Schmidt

Antigenic drift expands viral escape pathways from imprinted host humoral immunity

The paper assesses viral escape from imprinted broad antibody responses using deep mutational scanning of clonal antibody lineages against influenza HA epitopes, showing escape is possible through epistatic networks in drifted strains.

Lupus-associated innate receptors drive extrafollicular evolution of autoreactive B cells

This study investigates the role of lupus-associated innate receptors in the extrafollicular development of autoreactive B cells using adoptive transfer and time-stamped analysis in a mouse model.

A modular platform to display multiple hemagglutinin subtypes on a single immunogen

This paper introduces a modular immunogen platform that displays multiple hemagglutinin subtypes and elicits cross-reactive immune responses against influenza subtypes not included in the immunogen.

Characterization of SARS-CoV-2 Convalescent Patients' Serological Repertoire Reveals High Prevalence of Iso-RBD Antibodies

This study characterizes the serological repertoire of SARS-CoV-2 convalescent patients, revealing a high prevalence of iso-RBD antibodies that do not recognize prefusion-stabilized S, and shows that vaccination with prefusion-stabilized S reduces their prevalence.

A bivalent ChAd nasal vaccine protects against SARS-CoV-2 BQ.1.1 and XBB.1.5 infection and disease in mice and hamsters

This paper shows a bivalent ChAd nasal vaccine protects against SARS-CoV-2 BQ.1.1 and XBB.1.5 in mice and hamsters through mucosal immunity, despite poor serum neutralizing antibody responses.

An epitope-enriched immunogen increases site targeting in germinal centers

This study shows that an epitope-enriched immunogen preferentially expands RBS-directed antibody responses compared to non-enriched immunogens.

Hierarchical sequence-affinity landscapes shape the evolution of breadth in an anti-influenza receptor binding site antibody

This study characterizes the hierarchical epistasis between heavy and light chain mutations in an anti-influenza bnAb, showing how such interactions shape the evolution of broad antigen affinity.

An adjuvanted SARS-CoV-2 RBD nanoparticle elicits neutralizing antibodies and fully protective immunity in aged mice

This study identifies an adjuvanted SARS-CoV-2 RBD nanoparticle that induces neutralizing antibodies and full protection in aged mice.

Alum:CpG adjuvant enables SARS-CoV-2 RBD-induced protection in aged mice and synergistic activation of human elder type 1 immunity

This study evaluates AH:CpG adjuvant's ability to enhance RBD vaccine efficacy in aged mice and human elder cells, showing strong neutralizing antibody responses and cytokine production.

The Prolyl-tRNA Synthetase Inhibitor Halofuginone Inhibits SARS-CoV-2 Infection

This study identifies halofuginone as a potent inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 infection and replication by reducing heparan sulfate biosynthesis and suppressing viral replication.

Rationally designed immunogens enable immune focusing to the SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding motif

This study designs immunogens that focus immune responses to the SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding motif, enhancing neutralizing antibody breadth against related sarbecoviruses.

Memory B cell repertoire for recognition of evolving SARS-CoV-2 spike

The paper maps memory B cell receptors against SARS-CoV-2 spike variants, identifying 7 mAb competition groups and their epitopic regions, and shows their cross-reactivity and neutralization properties.

Naive human B cells engage the receptor binding domain of SARS-CoV-2, variants of concern, and related sarbecoviruses

The paper isolates naive B cells targeting SARS-CoV-2 RBD and shows they can neutralize the virus and variants.

Immunogenicity of an AAV-based, room-temperature stable, single dose COVID-19 vaccine in mice and non-human primates

This paper evaluates an AAV-based COVID-19 vaccine in mice and non-human primates, showing sustained neutralizing antibodies and memory T-cells, with room-temperature stability and scalable production.

Engineered receptor binding domain immunogens elicit pan-sarbecovirus neutralizing antibodies

This study shows that a cocktail of trimeric sarbecovirus receptor binding domains elicits broadly neutralizing antibodies against multiple sarbecoviruses, including in the context of prior SARS-CoV-2 immunity.

Rapid generation of potent antibodies by autonomous hypermutation in yeast

This paper introduces AHEAD, a yeast-based system for rapid antibody generation through autonomous hypermutation, achieving high-affinity antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and other targets in just 2 weeks.

SARS-CoV-2 Infection Depends on Cellular Heparan Sulfate and ACE2

This study shows SARS-CoV-2 spike protein binds to heparan sulfate and ACE2 on cells codependently, forming a complex that facilitates infection, suggesting potential therapeutic targets.

Structure-guided molecular grafting of a complex broadly neutralizing viral epitope

This paper describes the engineering of immunogens that present a conserved viral epitope using avian influenza HAs, showing they are immunogenic and can enrich for RBS-directed antibodies.