UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA
Grant: $500,000 - National Institutes of Health - Sep. 29, 2009
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Award Description: Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) is a devastating malignancy prevalent among immunosuppressed individuals, including AIDS patients and patients who have undergone organ transplants. The global seroprevalence of KSHV is uneven. It is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa where 40-60% of HIV-infected individuals are co-infected with Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), the etiological agent for KS. In the United States, where the seroprevalence of KSHV in the normal population is low, KSHV infection remains high in HIV-1 infected individuals and in other high-risk groups. Reported data indicates that more than 60% of HIV positive individuals in the United States are also infected with KSHV. Currently, very little is known about the protective immune response against KSHV and no vaccine against this oncogenic virus is available. The overall goal of the proposed study is to develop an effective vaccine against KSHV. The specific approaches necessary to accomplish the goal are: 1) characterization of the glycoprotein B (gB) and identification of its neutralizing epitopes; 2) identification of KSHV mimotopes that can be recognized by neutralizing antibodies using random peptide phage display; and 3) assessing the potential of the identified gB epitopes and phage displayed mimotopes as vaccine candidates by their ability to induce a neutralizing immune response in mice. The proposed study is significant and unique because it combines a traditional approach with an innovative phage display and immunofocusing approach to identify potential viral proteins and epitopes that can generate neutralizing antibodies, which can then be developed into effective vaccines against KSHV.
Project Description: Project was awarded 9/29/09. No activity to report.
Jobs Summary: As an educational institution, jobs created or retained fall into broad categories of faculty salaries, administrative salaries, managerial professional salaries and clerical or technical salaries. They may also include some academic salaries for student workers. Salaries are used in support of research or other sponsored projects being performed at UNL. Faculty post-docs and graduate students are the primary recipients of salary dollars; however, some managerial or professional, clerical and technical or students may benefit as well. Faculty personnel usually include the titles professor, assistant professor, associate professor, instructor, assistant instructor and post-doctoral assistant. Administrative and clerical salaries are charged if they meet the criteria detailed in OMB Circular A-21. Keeping post-docs, graduate students and undergraduate students employed has an additional impact of allowing them to pursue additional education, preparing them for future employment. As a broader impact, results of some projects may result in additional jobs in the public sector as technology is expanded to that market. For this project and quarter, full-time equivalent positions were created and/or retained either by UNL or by sub-awards made from this grant, if applicable. Calculations were made in accordance with the Office of Management and Budget Memorandum M-09-21 and subsequent guidance as provided by the OMB. (Total jobs reported: 0)
Project Status: Not Started
This award's data was last updated on Sep. 29, 2009. Help expand these official descriptions using the wiki below.
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