IMMUNOLOGY2026™ Conference Recordings For Attendees-Learning B and T cell immunology from novel vaccine efforts

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Video Summary

Chair Shikhar Pesari introduced Dr. Shane Crotty, an immunologist at the La Jolla Institute of Immunology, who studies how vaccines generate protective B- and T-cell responses, especially through T-follicular helper (TFH) cells.  <br /><br />Crotty first described COVID-era work showing that standard blood tests can miss important immune responses in the upper airway. In flu studies, his team found that the intranasal Flumist vaccine triggered strong local B-cell responses in the nasopharynx even when blood showed little change, suggesting mucosal sampling could better measure vaccine effectiveness.<br /><br />The main focus of the talk was HIV vaccine development. Crotty explained the “germline targeting” strategy: design a sequence of immunogens that first primes rare naive B cells, then gradually shepherds them toward broadly neutralizing antibody (bnAb) responses. His group found that slow antigen delivery and the adjuvant SMNP dramatically improved results by recruiting rare B cells, extending germinal center activity for months, and sustaining highly functional TFH cells.  <br /><br />Using this approach, they achieved, for the first time in nonhuman primates, bnAb-like memory B cells and measurable serum neutralizing antibody breadth against HIV. Crotty emphasized that the work is ongoing, with a first human trial now underway, and may inform vaccine design beyond HIV.

Meta Tag

Date April 16, 2026 6:00 PM - 6:45 PM

Room Ballroom

Session Distinguished Lecture - Shane Crotty

Speaker Shane Crotty

Track Immune Response Regulation: Molecular Mechanisms (IRM)

Year 2026

Keywords

Dr. Shane Crotty

immunology

vaccine responses

TFH cells

mucosal immunity

germline targeting

broadly neutralizing antibodies

HIV vaccine

nonhuman primates

April 16, 2026 6:00 PM - 6:45 PM

Ballroom

Distinguished Lecture - Shane Crotty

Shane Crotty

Immune Response Regulation: Molecular Mechanisms (IRM)

2026