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Center for Vaccines and Immunity

Oncolytic Viroimmunotherapy Improved by Enhanced Cytokine Transgene Expression
 Oncolytic Viroimmunotherapy Improved by Enhanced Cytokine Transgene Expression 150 150 Lauren Dembeck
By: Lauren Dembeck

Researchers were able to suppress in vivo tumor growth with an oncolytic virus by enhancing the production of the cytokine interleukin-12 in the tumors. Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are rare, aggressive sarcomas that exhibit resistance to non-surgical treatment and have high rates of metastasis and relapse. The prognosis for MPNSTs is poor, with…

Featured Researcher – Mark Peeples, PhD
 Featured Researcher – Mark Peeples, PhD 150 150 Alaina Doklovic
By: Alaina Doklovic

Mark E. Peeples, PhD, is a principal investigator and member of the Center for Vaccines and Immunity at The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and a professor of Pediatrics and of Molecular & Cellular Biochemistry at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. Dr. Peeples’ research focus is respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)…

A Novel Measles-Mumps Vaccine Delivers Multiple SARS-CoV-2 Spike Variants by Nose Drop
 A Novel Measles-Mumps Vaccine Delivers Multiple SARS-CoV-2 Spike Variants by Nose Drop 1024 512 Jessica Nye, PhD
By: Jessica Nye, PhD
coronavirus

Investigators from Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University modified the measles and mumps viruses from the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine to deliver three SARS-CoV-2 spike protein variants to the respiratory tract as an effective vaccine candidate. “We’re calling this a trivalent vaccine because it protects against three different variants of SARS-CoV-2,” says Mark Peeples,…

Featured Researcher — Katherine Bline, MD
 Featured Researcher — Katherine Bline, MD 150 150 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES
By: Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

Katherine Bline, MD, is a critical care medicine physician and principal investigator in the Center for Vaccines and Immunity at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Experience caring for some of the hospital’s sickest children in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and mentors who pushed her to understand phenomena she observed clinically have helped Dr. Bline find…

SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the Blood is Associated With Worse Outcomes in Kids
 SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the Blood is Associated With Worse Outcomes in Kids 1024 575 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES
By: Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

Researchers have identified a risk factor for more severe illness in children with COVID-19: detectable levels of SARS-CoV-2 RNA circulating in the blood. Children with detectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the blood, called RNAemia, were more likely to require oxygen and be admitted to the intensive care unit than children with COVID-19 who did not have…

Featured Researcher — Amit Kapoor, PhD
 Featured Researcher — Amit Kapoor, PhD 150 150 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES
By: Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

Amit Kapoor, PhD, joined Nationwide Children’s Hospital as a principal investigator in the Center for Vaccines and Immunity and The Ohio State University as an associate professor of Pediatrics in 2015. Dr. Kapoor’s lab is working to understand the immunopathogenesis of several viral pathogens that infect humans and animals. His lab is developing new animal…

Codetection of Respiratory Bacteria in Infants With RSV Infection Associated With Worse Outcomes
 Codetection of Respiratory Bacteria in Infants With RSV Infection Associated With Worse Outcomes 1024 575 Lauren Dembeck
By: Lauren Dembeck
Color photo of Black father holding infant on shoulder in front of nursery background with clouds on the wall

The interaction between the bacteria and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) appears to be synergistic. Researchers are now working to understand the underlying biological mechanisms. Researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital have discovered that codetection of Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae in the upper respiratory tract of previously healthy infants with RSV infection was independently associated with…

Understanding Immune Responses to Build a Better Vaccine
 Understanding Immune Responses to Build a Better Vaccine 1024 606 Abbie Miller
By: Abbie Miller

Researchers have used studies of respiratory syncytial virus and infant immune responses to develop a promising vaccine candidate. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is an incredibly common yet potentially deadly pathogen. Almost everyone becomes infected with RSV during their first three years of life, but for certain populations — infants and elderly or immunocompromised people —…

Introducing a New SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Candidate
 Introducing a New SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Candidate 1024 512 Abbie Miller
By: Abbie Miller
coronavirus

The new vaccine candidate takes advantage of the long and successful history of the measles vaccine. A team of researchers from The Ohio State University and Nationwide Children’s have built a novel vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2. The candidate, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), used the measles vaccine as a vector…

Systems Analyses Unravel Clinical Phenotypes in Infants with Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection
 Systems Analyses Unravel Clinical Phenotypes in Infants with Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection 1024 575 Mary Bates, PhD
By: Mary Bates, PhD

RSV disease severity is influenced by innate immune responses, viral loads and patient age. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of hospitalization in children, although most cases result in mild disease. To develop effective antivirals and vaccines, a better understanding of the different clinical, immunologic and virologic factors present in infants with mild…

What Could COVID-19 Mean for Pediatrics?
 What Could COVID-19 Mean for Pediatrics? 1024 683 Abbie Miller
By: Abbie Miller

As COVID-19 spreads across the globe, experts are digging into the data and establishing protocols to better understand the illness in the context of pediatrics. As COVID-19, the illness caused by a novel coronavirus, has reached pandemic status, life has changed dramatically. At Nationwide Children’s Hospital, the halls are uncharacteristically quiet as a “stay at…

Could Restoring CD4+ T Cell Immunity Help Control Hepatitis C Infection?
 Could Restoring CD4+ T Cell Immunity Help Control Hepatitis C Infection? 1024 683 Kevin Mayhood
By: Kevin Mayhood

Following childbirth, some women with chronic infection experienced a recovery of HCV-specific CD4+ T cells and a reduction in viral replication. In chronic hepatitis C (HCV) infections, CD4+ T cells that recognize the virus have been so hard to detect, some researchers thought they may be completely depleted. But research led by investigators at Nationwide Children’s…

Link Found Between Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection and Asthma
 Link Found Between Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection and Asthma 800 533 Mary Bates, PhD
By: Mary Bates, PhD

RSV infection early in life increases risk of subsequent wheezing or asthma. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of hospitalization in infants all over the world. It can lead to serious acute infections, and new research from Nationwide Children’s shows RSV infection can also have long-term health consequences. In a new study, researchers…

Surprise Finding in Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection Viral Load Study
 Surprise Finding in Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection Viral Load Study 150 150 Lauren Dembeck
By: Lauren Dembeck

Understanding viral load dynamics can help inform treatment decisions Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) lower respiratory tract infection is a leading cause of hospitalization and mortality in infants worldwide, but a licensed RSV vaccine has not yet been developed, in part due to the incomplete understanding of RSV pathogenesis. While investigating the relationship between RSV viral…

Novel Metric Predicts Severity of Community-Acquired Pneumonia
 Novel Metric Predicts Severity of Community-Acquired Pneumonia 150 150 Rachael Hardison
By: Rachael Hardison

Researchers utilize a biomarker to predict disease severity during early stages of pneumonia. Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a leading cause of hospitalization and mortality in children. Each year, 4 percent of children under 5 years of age will develop CAP in industrialized countries. Although pneumonia is common, diagnosing and treating it remains a challenge for…

Vaccine Enables Model to Clear Hepatitis C Virus and Prevent Persistence
 Vaccine Enables Model to Clear Hepatitis C Virus and Prevent Persistence 150 150 Kevin Mayhood
By: Kevin Mayhood

Scientists are conceptualizing an effective HCV vaccine using a new animal model. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) subverts responses of immune cells, resulting in chronic infection in more than 71 million people worldwide. The virus causes 1.79 million new infections and 399,000 deaths worldwide annually. Antivrials can cure the disease but are unaffordable or not available…

Crafty Hepatitis E Virus Uses Decoy to Evade Immune System
 Crafty Hepatitis E Virus Uses Decoy to Evade Immune System 1024 683 Kevin Mayhood
By: Kevin Mayhood

Researchers find a related protein cloaking the virus has differences that could become treatment targets. A protein that doctors use as a marker of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is not directly involved in the virus lifecycle but acts as a decoy drawing away antibodies, helping HEV evade the immune system and thrive, researchers in…

Reevaluate the Evaluation of Febrile Infants?
 Reevaluate the Evaluation of Febrile Infants? 1024 575 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES
By: Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES
Black and white photo of infant crying in hospital

For decades, complete blood cell counts have been the go-to way to identify babies at high risk for serious bacterial infections. But recent research shows the popular lab test isn’t as useful as everyone thought. The Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) has worked for the past decade to both evaluate new technologies and…

Hepatitis E Persists and Self-Limits Due to Novel Mechanism, Study Finds
 Hepatitis E Persists and Self-Limits Due to Novel Mechanism, Study Finds 150 150 Brianne Moore
By: Brianne Moore

A team of researchers finds that Hepatitis E behaves uniquely compared other hepatitis viruses and hopes to pave the way for future investigation. Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is one of five known human hepatitis viruses and infects approximately 20 million people annually. HEV causes significant morbidity and mortality around the world, causing acute hepatitis in…

Bacterial or Viral? New Technique to Clear Muddy Waters
 Bacterial or Viral? New Technique to Clear Muddy Waters 150 150 Jan Arthur
By: Jan Arthur

Transcriptional profiling could help reduce inappropriate administration of antibiotics for lower respiratory infections in hospitalized patients. Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) are one of the most frequent reasons for hospitalization in adults and children worldwide. However, in most cases, establishing the cause of the infection is challenging and many patients undergo unnecessary treatment with antibiotics…

Building the Modern-Day Vaccine
 Building the Modern-Day Vaccine 150 150 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES
By: Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

Vaccine development used to be straightforward. Now, the challenges are many and the successes are few. What will it take to overcome the obstacles presented by both immunology and society? For 160 years, vaccine after vaccine succeeded at safely and effectively preventing its targeted illness using a set of standard strategies. Scientists knew they simply…