top of page

Institut Pasteur

PROJECT COORDINATOR

Paris, France

logo_ip_header.png

Institut Pasteur is a private, non-profit foundation with recognized charitable status, for biomedical research, established in 1887 by Louis Pasteur and hosting about 3000 staff members and 142 research structures. The Institut Pasteur is committed to conducting outstanding research to improve global health. Its missions are to help prevent and treat diseases, mainly those of infectious origin, through research, public health, education and training, and the development of research applications. As one of the most prestigious health research institutions in the world, 10 Institut Pasteur researchers have received a Nobel Prize. The Institut Pasteur is also at the centre of a unique international network, the Pasteur Network, a human and scientific community with more than 30 members in over 20 countries across all five continents working together to help improve global health.

The FlavImmunity group led by Dr. Giovanna Barba Spaeth, at the Unit of Structural Virology, gathers structural virologist studying the dynamics of viral envelope proteins to address key open question in molecular virology on 1) the conformational changes that drive virus/receptor interaction and virus entry; 2) how the cellular environment triggers viral fusion and 3) virus egress; 4) which are the molecular determinants of virus interactions with neutralizing antibodies. FlavImmunity group use a combination of techniques including structural approaches, mainly cryo-EM – both Single Particle Analysis (SPA) or cryo-tomography (cryo-ET) – with functional assays (work in BSL3, fusion and neutralization assays, single particle fluorescence microscopy) to identify the molecular determinants driving the changes the viral fusion proteins undergo. Our favorite viruses are Flaviviruses including yellow fever virus, dengue, Zika and West Nile. FlavImmunity group also study SARS-CoV-2 and Rotavirus.

As coordinator of Yellow4FLAVI, Institut Pasteur leads several Work Packages and oversees the scientific and administrative implementation of the project, focusing on scientific coordination between each Work Packages, leading to high quality collaboration among the consortium.

 

https://www.pasteur.fr/en

https://research.pasteur.fr/en/team/flavimmunity/

Project Team

ip_edited.jpg

Project tasks

Work Package 1 Lead: Influence of virus architecture on protective epitope exposure and antigen intracellular trafficking

  • Task 1.1. Lead: Analyse the viral particle structure by CryoEM

  • Task 1.2. Lead:  Investigate entry and fusion of YF17D vs YFWT in endosomal compartments in DCs

  • Task 1.3. Analyse endocytosis of YF17D vs YFWT

  • Task 1.4. Compare protection efficacy of different forms of YF17D vaccines in small animal models

Work Package 2 Identification of host factors that predict and influence the vaccine response to YF17D

  • Task 2.3. Quantification and serological characterisation of the vaccine response to YF17D in the collected cohorts

  • Task 2.4. Investigate host factors that predict and influence the vaccine response to YF17D

  • Task 2.5. Serologically characterise cohorts exposed to WNV and Usutu Virus

  • Task 2.6. Test factors hypothesised to influence the response to flaviviruses based on the analysed cohort data in animal models of flavivirus infection

Work Package 3 Long‐term protective memory response after vaccination

  • Task 3.1. Analysis of number, phenotype, epitope-specificity and B cell receptor repertoire profile of YFV and TBE memory B cells

  • Task 3.2. Cloning of neutralising antibodies and interrogation of binding sites

Work Package 4 Initiation of the immune response and presentation of viral antigens

  • Task 4.1. Transcriptome and imaging analysis of human and simian skin biopsies from the vaccination site

  • Task 4.3. Define the antigen source and explain the mechanism of antigen transfer from infected stromal cells to DCs for presentation to YFV-specific T cells

Work Package 6 Lead: Communications, Dissemination and Exploitation

  • Task 6.1. Lead: Dissemination and Communication Strategy for Yellow4FLAVI

  • Task 6.2. Lead: IP Management and Exploitation Planning

  • Task 6.3. Lead: Training

Work Package 7 Lead: Coordination

  • Task 7.1. Lead: Administrative, legal, and financial management

  • Task 7.2. Lead: Yellow4FLAVI coordination and risk management

  • Task 7.3. Lead: Follow‐up of the study protocol, regulatory and ethics approvals and reporting of each clinical study

  • Task 7.4. Lead: Ethics management

  • Task 7.5. Lead: Data management

Work Package 8 Lead: Ethics requirements

bottom of page