B-Cell Immunology Section
Lela Kardava, Ph.D.
Staff Scientist, B-Cell Immunology Section
Major Areas of Research
- B cells in HIV pathogenesis
- B-cell responses to vaccination
- B cells in primary immunodeficiencies
Program Description
Our research mainly focuses on the phenotypic and functional characterization of B-cell subsets in the HIV pathogenesis. We utilize a variety of highly sensitive assays to study the role of B cells in HIV infection and other human diseases. We apply our knowledge in virus-specific B cells to examine B-cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 and Ebola vaccines.
Biography
Education
Ph.D., Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia
Dr. Kardava received her Ph.D. in Immunology from the Tbilisi State University, Georgia. She conducted her postdoctoral research at the Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh. In 2008, Dr. Kardava joined the Laboratory of Immunoregulation (LIR) at NIAID as a postdoctoral visiting fellow and in 2011, she became a research fellow. In 2016, she was appointed as a staff scientist in the B-Cell Immunology Section, LIR.
Selected Publications
Kardava L, Lim J, Buckner CM, Lopes de Assis F, Zhang X, Wang W, Melnyk ML, El Merhebi O, Trihemasava K, Teng IT, Carroll R, Jethmalani Y, Castro M, Lin BC, Praiss LH, Seamon CA, Kwong PD, Koup RA, Serebryannyy L, Nickle DC, Chun TW, Moir S. Phenotypic heterogeneity defines B cell responses to repeated SARS-CoV-2 exposures through vaccination and infection. Cell Rep. 2025 Apr 22;44(4):115557.
Buckner CM, Kardava L, El Merhebi O, Narpala SR, Serebryannyy L, Lin BC, Wang W, Zhang X, Lopes de Assis F, Kelly SEM, Teng IT, McCormack GE, Praiss LH, Seamon CA, Rai MA, Kalish H, Kwong PD, Proschan MA, McDermott AB, Fauci AS, Chun TW, Moir S. Interval between prior SARS-CoV-2 infection and booster vaccination impacts magnitude and quality of antibody and B cell responses. Cell. 2022 Nov 10;185(23):4333-4346.e14.
Kardava L, Rachmaninoff N, Lau WW, Buckner CM, Trihemasava K, Blazkova J, Lopes de Assis F, Wang W, Zhang X, Wang Y, Chiang CI, Narpala S, McCormack GE, Liu C, Seamon CA, Sneller MC, O'Connell S, Li Y, McDermott AB, Chun TW, Fauci AS, Tsang JS, Moir S. Early human B cell signatures of the primary antibody response to mRNA vaccination. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Jul 12;119(28):e2204607119.
Kardava L, Sohn H, Youn C, Austin JW, Wang W, Buckner CM, Justement JS, Melson VA, Roth GE, Hand MA, Gittens KR, Kwan RW, Sneller MC, Li Y, Chun TW, Sun PD, Pierce SK, Moir S. IgG3 regulates tissue-like memory B cells in HIV-infected individuals. Nat Immunol. 2018 Sep;19(9):1001-1012.