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.

A multi-center research team including scientists from the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center has come up with a clever “Trojan Horse” strategy for thwarting the highly lethal Ebola virus.

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.

During the past two weeks, researchers at Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) have brought in a number of new research grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that together achieve $137 million in new funding. The funding is a trans-institutional accomplishment of the Schools of Engineering and Medicine and the College of Arts and Science.

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.

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.