Rochester Takes on Nature and Bioterrorism, Securing Funding of $11.9 Million
University of Rochester Medical Center Launches Five-Year Project to Boost Flu Vaccine Research
The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) has received a five-year contract worth approximately $11.9 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This project, focused on understanding the immune response to respiratory infections, including influenza, combines mathematical modeling with immunology experiments.
Led by Martin Zand, John Treanor, David Topham, and Hulin Wu, the research team at URMC will begin a study this year involving collecting blood samples from people and mice after they receive the seasonal flu vaccine. The detailed data gathered from this study will be used to create mathematical models that predict responses to current and future flu vaccines in mice and potentially humans.
The project integrates mathematical models that simulate viral dynamics and immune responses with laboratory experiments that analyze cellular and molecular immune mechanisms. This combination allows researchers to predict infection outcomes and immune system behavior more accurately, guiding better strategies for prevention and treatment of flu and related respiratory infections.
The experimental work will use cell cultures, animal models, and clinical samples to study immune cell interactions and viral infection processes. Mathematical and computational models will be applied to quantify viral replication, immune cell kinetics, and inflammation dynamics. Iterative refinement of models based on experimental findings will provide deeper mechanistic insights.
The URMC's Center for Biodefense Immune Modeling, which was initially funded with a $10 million contract in 2005, is involved in this research. This research is part of a broader effort that includes the New York Influenza Center of Excellence, the Center for Biodefense of Immunocompromised Populations, and the Health Sciences Center for Computational Innovation.
NIAID also awarded contracts to three other centers as part of the Immune Modeling for Biodefense program: Mount Sinai Medical Center School of Medicine, Duke University, and the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
The goal of the research is to uncover why some people have a good response to a vaccine and others don't, and to use these models to simulate different flu scenarios and test medical interventions. Between 2005 and 2015, total funding for these projects, which comes from NIH and a corporate partnership for HSCCI, is approximately $64 million.
The URMC's Division of Biomedical Modeling and Informatics provides modeling, statistics, and bioinformatics support to several large biomedical research projects, including the Developmental Center for AIDS Research, the Rochester Prevention Research Center, NYICE, and CBIP.
There is tremendous collaboration and cross-pollination among researchers and between programs at URMC, which enables the institution to conduct complicated clinical studies that many other universities would have a hard time doing. The contract will fund development of new mathematical approaches and software tools that will be made available to the entire research community.
Martin Zand, M.D., Ph.D., co-director of the Center for Biodefense Immune Modeling and medical director of Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Programs at URMC, stated that the research is important for developing new vaccines and therapies for flu infections. David Topham, co-director of the New York Influenza Center of Excellence, stated that Rochester has a long-standing clinical infrastructure and an outstanding track record in vaccine research, and is now taking vaccine research into the twenty-first century by applying mathematical and computational approaches. Alan Perelson and Ruy Riberio of the Los Alamos National Laboratory are also part of the research team.
[1] Hulin Wu, Ph.D., Co-Director of the Center for Biodefense Immune Modeling and Professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology at the Medical Center, stated that using models and simulations is commonplace in many industries and is now being adopted in biomedical research. [5] Martin Zand, M.D., Ph.D., Co-Director of the Center for Biodefense Immune Modeling and Medical Director of Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Programs at the University of Rochester Medical Center, stated that the research is important for developing new vaccines and therapies for flu infections.
[1] The research project at URMC, led by Hulin Wu, aims to apply mathematical models and simulations, a common practice in various industries, to biomedical research, specifically for understanding the immune response to flu and other respiratory infections.
[5] Martin Zand, involved in the research, emphasizes the importance of this project for developing new vaccines and therapies for flu infections, which aligns with the University of Rochester Medical Center's long-standing commitment to vaccine research. Furthermore, this project's focus on medical conditions such as influenza and its integration with aspects of finance, notably the significant funding received for the research, demonstrates a multidisciplinary approach to addressing complex health issues.
