Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have isolated a human monoclonal antibody that in a mouse model “markedly reduced” infection by the Zika virus.

To prepare for the potential of a smallpox return, Vanderbilt researchers are isolating and studying naturally occurring antibodies from the blood of previously infected or immunized people.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the major cause of life-threatening viral pneumonia in infants worldwide, yet despite repeated efforts, scientists have been unable to develop an effective vaccine against it.

Using an antibody generated at Vanderbilt University Medical Center that neutralizes the Ebola virus, researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, have determined the structure of a “decoy” protein that may enable the virus to evade detection by the immune system.

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center this month began recruiting volunteers to participate in a clinical trial aimed at decoding the human “immunome,” the genetic underpinnings of the immune system.

William B. Wadlington, M.D., a graduate of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine class of 1952 and former member of the Board of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, died May 18. He was 89.

It’s been known for some time that the immune system can produce antibodies capable of “neutralizing” HIV, and stopping the AIDS-causing virus dead in its tracks.