Understanding immune responses to Mpox infection and vaccination

The Mpox virus is endemic in West and Central African countries. In 2022, the WHO declared Mpox a global health emergency as infections have spread globally to over 100 countries. There are limited antiviral drugs available for the treatment of Mpox and the current vaccination strategy to prevent the spread of Mpox is to immunise people with a smallpox vaccine. However, there are growing concerns that available vaccines may be less effective in the current outbreak due to the emergence of a new viral clade. The aim of this project is to profile the immune response to Mpox virus and post-vaccination. 

Students will have the opportunity to apply computational and laboratory based methods to address this research question. Phylogenetic analysis will be performed to track evolutionary changes to Mpox virus since viral emergence. In addition, computational biology tools will be used to identify important changes in viral proteins which could impact immune responses to the Mpox virus and available vaccines. 

Ex vivo laboratory assays will be used to quantify serological and cellular immune responses in people who have recovered from Mpox infection. Cross protection against Mpox and other poxviruses will be assessed in people who have been recently vaccinated during the current outbreak compared to those who were vaccinated as part of the global smallpox eradication campaign. 

This project is offered as a laboratory or computational project or a combination of the two depending on student interests.