While the entirety of my time at the Fred Hutch Research Explorers Program consisted of captivating lessons and intriguing activities, I found Dr. Katusiime’s presentation on HIV research to be my highlight. On top of her incredibly impressive career pathway, and motivating advice to “be proactive” in our own science journeys, Dr. Katusiime shared fascinating HIV facts. Did you know infected resting cells have the potential to become HIV reservoirs? Attempting to target and destroy these reservoirs is a major challenge that HIV researchers currently face. We were also informed on the use of ‘bench to bedside’ strategies in finding treatments. This refers to the process of applying discoveries generated during research in the laboratory, and in preclinical studies, to the development of trials and studies in humans. However, it was Dr. Katusiime’s encouragement for us students to be explorers in the biology field and beyond that struck me most of all. It was made evident that only we could make our goals a reality, a feat that will take hard work, resilience, courage and faith!
One topical Fred Hutch news article that caught my attention was ‘How studies of coronavirus immunity can inform better vaccine treatments’. Primarily lead by Dr. Julie Overbaugh and Dr. Jesse Bloom, this study sought to understand the interactions between our immune systems and SARS-CoV-2, in order to answer the questions: How long will our immunity last, and how often will vaccines need to be updated? I selected this study because I am incredibly excited to witness scientific progress in understanding COVID-19 and its prevention!
To begin, the scientists questioned how long our immunity to COVID-19 would last. (The answer to this question will determine how often we will need to be re-vaccinated!) The length of our immunity’s endurance depends on the strength of the original immune response and how well the virus can evolve to evade it. Dr. Bloom adds, “Although we can’t be certain, it is likely that new variants [of SARS-CoV-2] will sweep away old ones. That…may now be in the process of happening again with the delta variant.”
So, how do variants arise and escape immune response? According to the study, when coronavirus genetic material is copied inside our cells, it will occasionally mutate and include the wrong genetic letter. If this change is beneficial for the virus, it will get passed along as the virus is passed on to new hosts. Viral mutations can also make it harder for the immune systems of vaccinated or previously infected people to recognize the virus. Luckily, even though vaccine protection is less efficient against coronavirus variants, most vaccines still provide protection against severe symptoms. The delta variant is a perfect example of such a mutation!
Meghan Garret, a graduate student assisting Dr. Julie Overbaugh, found less consistency among mutations that allowed antibody escape along the stem of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. As these areas are less changeable among viral variants, they may be ‘attractive additions’ to future vaccines made for broader protection against many different variants.
Image Credit: Pavel Solopov, Old Dominion University
Evidently, Garret and all who contributed to this study unearthed a significant discovery – focusing on parts of SARS-CoV-2 that the virus can’t afford to modify may be the key to reducing how often we update vaccines and get booster shots. It is the hope that these vaccines could greatly reduce the threat of COVID-19 variants in the years to come!
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