Assessing Immune Memory (AIM)

Military service members rely on effective vaccination for the prevention of communicable disease as well as to guard against biothreat exposure. Many current vaccines lack durability (i.e., do not provide effective protection over long periods of time), and there are multiple pathogens and threats that lack prophylactic options altogether. It is currently impossible to predict vaccine durability from early response profiles, largely owing to ignorance of mechanisms underlying immune memory as well as an inability to measure the cellular contributors that invoke long-lasting immune protection. Formation of immune memory is a complex physiological process characterized by a diverse array of cellular interactions and signaling processes. AIM seeks to develop a platform capability to predict immune memory informed by a systems-level view of the host response to vaccination and its mechanisms.