# Project 4: Computational panbetaCoV immunogen design

> **NIH NIH P01** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $1,863,181

## Abstract

Abstract - Project 4
SARS-CoV-2, a member of the genus Betacoronavirus (betaCoV), is the third major zoonotic outbreak of a highly
pathogenic betaCoV in the last two decades. We propose to design vaccines to contribute to the global effort to
counter the COVID-19 pandemic as swiftly as possible, and then to build on these designs to create panbetaCoV
vaccines that could be used to rapidly contain outbreaks of future coronavirus zoonoses. To these ends, we will
design both 1) Spike-targeted antibody vaccines, mindful of SARS-CoV-2 evolution as the pandemic progresses,
and 2) conserved-region T-cell vaccine designs, to refocus CD8 T-cell response to regions in the proteome that
cannot escape without a high fitness cost. These efforts toward pandemic vaccines will then be used as a
foundation to extend our vaccine design strategies to counter the variability found among BetaCoVs, the highly
diverse genus of CoVs that are found in bat populations. Based on our preliminary explorations of BetaCoV
sequence diversity, we expect the design of a trivalent Spike-based vaccine using computational/bioinformatic
and structure-based strategies to provide protection against the known range of diversity found in the subgenus
Sarbecovirus. This includes both SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2, and the many related viruses isolated from bats
and pangolins. If successful, these designs will be extended to cover Merbecovirus the subgenus that includes
the MERS virus and other related viruses found in wild bats, rodents and cattle. Our Specific Aims are: Aim 1.
Track the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Aim 2. Design Spike vaccine antigens
that optimize epitope exposure and betaCoV diversity coverage. Aim 3. Design T cell vaccines utilizing the most
conserved regions in betaCoV. Our Spike-based computational vaccine designs will be based on our structural
B cell mosaics strategy, and will be informed by Spike glycoprotein structures and molecular dynamic modeling,
and will incorporate alignments of diverse Spike proteins. Using this approach we will design a trivalent set of
complementary of proteins that optimally covers the natural diversity found among Sarbecoviruses in the bat
reservoir. As we cannot predict with certainty the antigenic profile of viruses that may give rise to future zoonoses,
we propose a two-pronged approach, and will simultaneously explore a conserved-region T-cell strategy that,
although it might not block infection, could substantially mitigate disease, reducing both morbidity and
transmission. Our T-cell vaccine designs will optimize the coverage of linear epitopes among BetaCoVs with a
trivalent vaccine mix using our computational design strategy called Epigraphs. By focusing on the most
conserved regions in the betaCoV proteome, we can more readily cover the broad spectrum of BetaCoVs
diversity than in the more diverse Spike.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10327526
- **Project number:** 1P01AI158571-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Rory Henderson
- **Activity code:** P01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1,863,181
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-16 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10327526

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10327526, Project 4: Computational panbetaCoV immunogen design (1P01AI158571-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10327526. Licensed CC0.

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