NIAID supports research to enhance understanding of basic immunology, including immunity to infectious pathogens and the etiology, treatment, and prevention of immune-mediated diseases. Critical to this mission is the discovery and characterization of novel epitopes targeted by B and T lymphocyte cells.
The Epitope Discovery Program is comprised of two complementary programs: 1) Innovations in Functional B Cell Epitope Discovery, and 2) T Cell Immune Epitope Discovery and Mechanisms of T Cell Protection. Together, these programs support the following areas of research:
- Discovery of novel epitopes associated with human responses to pathogens that cause chronic or acute infection, including pathogens with pandemic potential
- Discovery of novel epitopes associated with human allergic responses, development of autoimmune disease, and transplant rejection
- Structural characterization of epitopes: monoclonal antibody binding and MHC-peptide: TCR binding
- Validation of the functional role of epitopes in human disease (i.e., participation in immune protection or pathogenesis)
- Deposition of epitope data into the Immune Epitope Database and Analysis Resource (IEDB)
Additionally, NIAID funds two supporting resources that are available to the biomedical community: the Immune Epitope Database and Analysis Resource (IEDB) and the Tetramer Core Facility.
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