AntibodyX is an RTD project funded by the SystemX.ch. The team at AntibodyX consists of researches with an expansive range of expertise, spanning from biotechnology, bioengineering, immunology, virology, and computational modeling. The overall goal of AntibodyX is to optimize and use systems biology-based methods for the quantitative molecular analysis of antibody repertoires that develop in response to vaccination and pathogenic infection. We aim to characterize antibody responses at an unprecedented level of depth on molecular diversity and the evolution of humoral immunity.
An extensive amount of effort and resources is devoted to establishing and optimizing the experimental and computational methods needed for high-throughput analysis of antibody repertoires. Also, we utilize sophisticated and well-characterized mouse models of viral infection (lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, LCMV), such an approach allows us to study the evolution of the antibody repertoire during both acute and chronic viral infections. In addition to model systems, we also track the evolution of antibody responses from human clinical samples, including patients exposed to HIV and influenza. Finally, we will be integrating genetic, protein, and cellular level data to build computational models of the contrasting and conflicting evolutionary pathways being utilized by both pathogenic viruses and host antibody responses. The generation of such precise and quantitative models will provide a tremendous amount of insight into the evolutionary arms race that takes place between pathogen and host.
We believe the overall success of AntibodyX will have a substantial impact on systems immunology, specifically in areas such as therapeutic antibody discovery, vaccine development, clinical diagnosis, and prediction of immunological protection and viral escape.