# Developing computational models to predict the immune response to B. pertussis booster vaccination

> **NIH NIH U01** · LA JOLLA INSTITUTE FOR IMMUNOLOGY · 2020 · $274,500

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract:
Bordetella pertussis (PT) is the causative agent of whooping cough. Highly effective vaccines to protect from
PT infection have been in use since the early 1940s. However, the last fifteen years have witnessed a consistent
increase in the number of whooping cough cases, and the reasons for this are not completely understood. This
highlights the need to better understand how immune responses against PT vary between individuals, which we
can determine by measuring immune responses to PT booster vaccination as a proxy for immune responses to
infectious challenge.
We will use these data to develop computational models that will help establish a quantitative and predictive
understanding of the factors that impact immune responses resulting from PT booster vaccination. Specifically,
we will examine the impact of demographic variables such as age and sex, the type of vaccine received in
infancy, and the immune state prior to vaccination. Understanding how these variables can impact vaccine
responses is of importance not only for PT, but for vaccine research in general.
To achieve this, we are proposing an iterative process of model building, model evaluation, experimental data
generation, and model refinement. We will engage the wider scientific community in this process by hosting an
annual prediction contest. We have placed particular emphasis on making this process transparent and open, to
ensure that the value of the models and the results from the evaluation are accepted by the community at large.
Specifically, we will:
1) Establish and seed an open platform to build and evaluate computational models of PT booster vaccination.
2) Generate new experimental data with staggered release dates to test and iteratively improve computational
models.
3) Engage the broader scientific community in this modeling effort.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10246590
- **Project number:** 3U01AI150753-01S1
- **Recipient organization:** LA JOLLA INSTITUTE FOR IMMUNOLOGY
- **Principal Investigator:** Bjoern Peters
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $274,500
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-03-10 → 2025-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10246590

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10246590, Developing computational models to predict the immune response to B. pertussis booster vaccination (3U01AI150753-01S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10246590. Licensed CC0.

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