# Immunogenetic Mechanisms of Vaccine Response

> **NIH NIH R37** · MAYO CLINIC ROCHESTER · 2020 · $557,596

## Abstract

Understanding inter-individual variations in immune responses to live viral vaccines is critical to
understanding how viral vaccines induce protective immune responses, informs new rational vaccine design,
and allows identification of new correlates of vaccine immunogenicity and efficacy. The studies supported by
this grant during the current funding cycle have shown that: 1) specific HLA alleles and haplotypes as well as
specific SNPs and multigenic SNP interactions significantly influence rubella vaccine immune reponses; 2)
these HLA alleles and SNPs have now been replicated/confirmed; and 3) some of these SNPs influence
both rubella and measles vaccine immune responses-potentially identifying key genetic determinates
shared across multiple viral families. These studies account for approximately 15% of the inter-individual
variation in humoral response to rubella vaccine, where the heritability of rubella vaccine immune response
is nearly 50%, thus key drivers of immune response variation are not yet understood. In this proposal, we
take a systems-level approach to identifying the key compoents, and their interactions, that together most
influence innate and adaptive immune response variability to rubella vaccine. To do so, we propose the
following Specific Aims: 1) To perform a systems biology-level study to identify predictors of innate immune
responses ("innate immune signature") after live in vitro rubella virus stimulation among cohorts of non/low
and high responders to rubella vaccine; 2) To perform a systems biology-level study to identify novel
predictors of adaptive B cell antibody immune responses ("adaptive B cell immune signature") to live rubella
virus vaccination among cohorts of non/low and high rubella vaccine responders; 3) To perform a systems
biology-level study to identify novel predictors of T cell immune responses ("adaptive T cell immune
signature") to live rubella virus vaccination among cohorts of non/low and high rubella vaccine responders;
and 4) To determine the direct effects and mechanisms by which the above identified components result in
variations in innate and adaptive B and T cell immune responses to rubella vaccination. These data will lead
to identifying unique immune signatures that predict innate and adaptive immune responses.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9879693
- **Project number:** 5R37AI048793-20
- **Recipient organization:** MAYO CLINIC ROCHESTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Gregory A. Poland
- **Activity code:** R37 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $557,596
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-03-01 → 2023-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9879693

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9879693, Immunogenetic Mechanisms of Vaccine Response (5R37AI048793-20). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9879693. Licensed CC0.

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