Recent Eric Topol/SUBSTACK interview with Shane Crotty: A Landmark Study on Upper Airway Mucosal Immunity and how it may impact SARS-CoV-2 prevention and future vaccines.

Event Information

Event Topic:
A Landmark Study on Upper Airway Mucosal Immunity

Event Description:
Scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology published the first-ever, in-depth analysis of immune cell memory in the upper airways of adult volunteers. Among these immune cells, the researcher spotted “tissue resident” memory cells, which stand ready to defend the airway from SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory diseases. “We were finally able to take a closer look at the anatomy of infection—what happens when a virus infects tissues of the upper airway,” says LJI Instructor Sydney Ramirez, M.D., Ph.D., who served as first author of the new Nature study. The scientists say these findings may lead to better vaccines to boost immune protection. “This discovery helps us understand immunity to pathogens and will hopefully help us develop new vaccines against viruses that infect the airway.”

Date/Time:
Date(s) - 08/13/24
6:15 pm - 8:30 pm

Event Location:
Zoom talk: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88549236999:

Speaker Information

Event Speaker:
Shane Crotty

Event Speaker Title:
Professor

Event Speaker Company:
La Jolla Institute for Immunology

Event Speaker Bio:

Shane Crotty, Ph.D., and his team study immunity against infectious diseases. They investigate how the immune system remembers infections and vaccines. By remembering infections and vaccines, the body is protected from becoming infected in the future. Vaccines are one of the most cost-effective medical treatments in modern civilization and are responsible for saving millions of lives. Yet, good vaccines are very difficult to design, and a better understanding of immune memory will facilitate the ability to make new vaccines. Dr. Crotty graduated from MIT with dual degrees in Biology and Writing and then obtained his Ph.D. at the University of California, San Francisco, USA in 2001. He carried out postdoctoral studies at Emory University, USA, with Rafi Ahmed before starting his laboratory at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology (now the La Jolla Institute for Immunology, LJI), USA, in 2003, where he is now a full professor. Dr. Crotty’s lab studies the fundamental immunology underlying vaccine functions. The Crotty lab has made important contributions to COVID-19 research. Dr. Crotty was a Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences, and has been a Highly Cited Researcher in immunology for 7 years running. He was elected to the AAAS and he currently holds an NIH Merit Award.

Event Details

Cost:
$0

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