PROJECT 1: IMMUNE MEMORY

NIH Pandemic-Era Grants

Pandemic Era Grants

2024

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Principal Investigator: Rafi  Ahmed
Organization: EMORY UNIVERSITY
Fiscal Year: 2024
Award: $673,340
Funding agency: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Our long-term goal is to understand the cellular and molecular basis of immunological memory in humans. We
will address this important question in Project 1 by doing a detailed analysis of both humoral and cellular immunity
in a longitudinal cohort of over > 700 COVID-19 patients that we have been following for the past three years
and will now follow for another five years. These patients were recruited at our two clinical sites located in Atlanta
(Emory University) and Seattle (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center). This combined cohort consists of individuals
who were first infected with SARS-CoV-2 and then got the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccine, and some
individuals who received the vaccine first and then got infected. Many of these individuals have then gotten
booster shots with the vaccine and several of them have also had additional breakthrough infections. During this
three-year period of multiple antigen encounters of various combinations of infection and vaccination, we have
collected between 5-10 longitudinal blood samples from each patient. We now propose to follow these patients
for another five years and will collect 3-4 samples per year from each patient. Thus, we will have 20-30
longitudinal blood samples from each patient over an 8-year period. In addition, in the next five years we will also
collect bone marrow aspirates and mucosal samples from a subset of these individuals. The Specific Aims of
Project 1 are as follows: Aim 1: To determine the magnitude and durability of humoral and cellular immunity in
the entire cohort of > 700 COVID-19 patients over a period of 8 years. Aim 2: To examine the evolution of
memory B cell responses and determine the longevity of bone marrow plasma cells. Aim 3. To track
differentiation of T cells over time and define the transcriptional and epigenetic signatures of virus specific
memory CD8 and CD4 T cells.

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patient><SARS-CoV-2 positive patient><SARS-CoV2><SARS-CoV2 infection><SARS-associated corona virus 2><SARS-associated coronavirus 2><SARS-coronavirus-2><SARS-related corona virus 2><SARS-related coronavirus 2><SARSCoV2><Sampling><Secondary Immunization><Severe Acute Respiratory Coronavirus 2><Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome CoV 2><Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Corona Virus 2><Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Coronavirus 2><Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoV 2><Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-associated coronavirus 2><Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-related coronavirus 2><Severe acute respiratory syndrome associated corona virus 2><Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2><Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection><Severe acute respiratory syndrome related corona virus 2><T cell differentiation><T-Cells><T-Lymphocyte><T4 Cells><T4 Lymphocytes><T8 Cells><T8 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