# Multiscale modeling of influenza vaccination strategies for optimal T cell immunity

> **NIH NIH U01** · EMORY UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $695,821

## Abstract

Project Summary
Current influenza vaccines provide focused antibody-mediated protection against seasonal influenza strains
included in the vaccine. However, they do not protect from co-circulating mismatched strains, and, more
importantly, fail to provide protection against antigenic shifts that can cause potentially devastating pandemics.
This proposal investigates the role of T cell immunity, on both the individual and population levels, in providing
broad protection against diverse influenza strains. Animal and human studies showed that T cells can provide
strain-transcending protection, resulting in more rapid viral clearance, decreased immunopathology, and
improved clinical outcomes, and thus the improvement of strategies to induce protective levels of influenza-
specific T cells are of critical importance. However, little is known about the rules for boosting influenza-specific
resident memory T cells in the respiratory tract in the face of pre-existing humoral immunity from prior influenza
infections or vaccinations. We will use multi-scale immuno-epidemiological methods that link the scales from
the dynamics of infection and immunity within individuals to take of vaccination in the face of pre-existing
immunity and the spread of infection on the population level. The knowledge gained form this study will help
guide future vaccination efforts against influenza viruses to better generate broadly protective T cell immunity
within individuals and across the population.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9935972
- **Project number:** 5U01HL139483-03
- **Recipient organization:** EMORY UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** JACOB E KOHLMEIER
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $695,821
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-01 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9935972

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9935972, Multiscale modeling of influenza vaccination strategies for optimal T cell immunity (5U01HL139483-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9935972. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*