Developments in eliciting broadly neutralizing antibody vaccination

Dr. Larry Corey is an internationally renowned expert in virology, immunology and vaccine development, and the former president and director of Fred Hutch. His research focuses on herpes viruses, HIV, the novel coronavirus and other viral infections, including those associated with cancer. He is principal investigator of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network, or HVTN, which conducts studies of HIV vaccines at over 80 clinical trial sites in 16 countries on five continents. Under his leadership, the HVTN has become the model for global, collaborative research. Dr. Corey is also the principal investigator of the Fred Hutch-based operations center of the COVID-19 Prevention Network, or CoVPN, and co-leads the network’s vaccine testing pipeline. Dr. Corey’s own laboratory group at Fred Hutch studies how immune cells control herpes simplex virus. Their goal is to make a vaccine that will reduce the virus’s reactivation. In the early 1980s, he worked with future Nobel laureate Dr. Gertrude Elion in the development of acyclovir as the first effective therapy for genital herpes. As director of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group, he led the organization that eventually proved combination antiretroviral treatments could control HIV. The team also demonstrated that these drugs could reduce transmission of HIV from mothers to their infants. His research also showed that HIV-1 replicates in blood early in disease, emphasizing the importance of early therapy.

Dr. Larry Corey is an internationally renowned expert in virology, immunology and vaccine development, and the former president and director of Fred Hutch. His research focuses on herpes viruses, HIV, the novel coronavirus and other viral infections, including those associated with cancer. He is principal investigator of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network, or HVTN, which conducts studies of HIV vaccines at over 80 clinical trial sites in 16 countries on five continents. Under his leadership, the HVTN has become the model for global, collaborative research. Dr. Corey is also the principal investigator of the Fred Hutch-based operations center of the COVID-19 Prevention Network, or CoVPN, and co-leads the network’s vaccine testing pipeline. Dr. Corey’s own laboratory group at Fred Hutch studies how immune cells control herpes simplex virus. Their goal is to make a vaccine that will reduce the virus’s reactivation. In the early 1980s, he worked with future Nobel laureate Dr. Gertrude Elion in the development of acyclovir as the first effective therapy for genital herpes. As director of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group, he led the organization that eventually proved combination antiretroviral treatments could control HIV. The team also demonstrated that these drugs could reduce transmission of HIV from mothers to their infants. His research also showed that HIV-1 replicates in blood early in disease, emphasizing the importance of early therapy.

Tom Caniels, PhD, is a postdoctoral researcher in the department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention at Amsterdam University Medical Centers (Amsterdam UMC) at the University of Amsterdam. Dr. Caniels’ research focuses on immune responses, particularly B cell responses, after germline-targeting vaccination. His work on preclinical characterization of trimeric germline-targeting priming immunogens in mice and non-human primates has led to human vaccination studies in phase 1 clinical trials. He is currently working on the optimization of germline-targeting immunogens and studying the human immune response to germline-targeting vaccination.

Wilton Bryan Williams, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Sciences, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Integrative Immunology, at Duke University School of Medicine. He is also a primary member of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute where he serves as the Co-Director for Training and Mentoring. Dr. Williams’ research at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute is focused on understanding host immunity, particularly B cell-derived antibody responses to HIV infection in humans, and Simian-HIV (SHIV) infections in non-human primates (NHPs) that serve as animal models for human HIV-1 infection. He has also been a pioneer in immune monitoring of HIV-1 vaccines in human clinical trials and preclinical NHP studies.

Professor Carolyn Williamson serves as Head of Medical Virology at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, and holds a joint appointment with the National Health Laboratory Services, South Africa. She is also a scientific associate of the Centre for AIDS Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), and a member of the Wellcome Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Africa (CIDRI-Africa). Carolyn has dedicated her research to studying viral evolution, with a primary focus on HIV prevention and understanding molecular mechanisms of HIV transmission and diseases progression. Together with Jim Mullins at University of Washington, she has led the HVTN special interest sequencing laboratory and has generated more than 1/2 million HIV sequences from >600 breakthrough infections from large active and passive immunization trials, as well as from cure studies.

Dr. Larry Corey is an internationally renowned expert in virology, immunology and vaccine development, and the former president and director of Fred Hutch. His research focuses on herpes viruses, HIV, the novel coronavirus and other viral infections, including those associated with cancer. He is principal investigator of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network, or HVTN, which conducts studies of HIV vaccines at over 80 clinical trial sites in 16 countries on five continents. Under his leadership, the HVTN has become the model for global, collaborative research. Dr. Corey is also the principal investigator of the Fred Hutch-based operations center of the COVID-19 Prevention Network, or CoVPN, and co-leads the network’s vaccine testing pipeline. Dr. Corey’s own laboratory group at Fred Hutch studies how immune cells control herpes simplex virus. Their goal is to make a vaccine that will reduce the virus’s reactivation. In the early 1980s, he worked with future Nobel laureate Dr. Gertrude Elion in the development of acyclovir as the first effective therapy for genital herpes. As director of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group, he led the organization that eventually proved combination antiretroviral treatments could control HIV. The team also demonstrated that these drugs could reduce transmission of HIV from mothers to their infants. His research also showed that HIV-1 replicates in blood early in disease, emphasizing the importance of early therapy.

Tom Caniels, PhD, is a postdoctoral researcher in the department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention at Amsterdam University Medical Centers (Amsterdam UMC) at the University of Amsterdam. Dr. Caniels’ research focuses on immune responses, particularly B cell responses, after germline-targeting vaccination. His work on preclinical characterization of trimeric germline-targeting priming immunogens in mice and non-human primates has led to human vaccination studies in phase 1 clinical trials. He is currently working on the optimization of germline-targeting immunogens and studying the human immune response to germline-targeting vaccination.

Wilton Bryan Williams, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Sciences, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Integrative Immunology, at Duke University School of Medicine. He is also a primary member of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute where he serves as the Co-Director for Training and Mentoring. Dr. Williams’ research at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute is focused on understanding host immunity, particularly B cell-derived antibody responses to HIV infection in humans, and Simian-HIV (SHIV) infections in non-human primates (NHPs) that serve as animal models for human HIV-1 infection. He has also been a pioneer in immune monitoring of HIV-1 vaccines in human clinical trials and preclinical NHP studies.

Professor Carolyn Williamson serves as Head of Medical Virology at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, and holds a joint appointment with the National Health Laboratory Services, South Africa. She is also a scientific associate of the Centre for AIDS Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), and a member of the Wellcome Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Africa (CIDRI-Africa). Carolyn has dedicated her research to studying viral evolution, with a primary focus on HIV prevention and understanding molecular mechanisms of HIV transmission and diseases progression. Together with Jim Mullins at University of Washington, she has led the HVTN special interest sequencing laboratory and has generated more than 1/2 million HIV sequences from >600 breakthrough infections from large active and passive immunization trials, as well as from cure studies.