The rockefeller university

Event Details

Type

Friday Lecture Series

Speaker(s)

Ian A. Wilson, D.Sc., D.Phil.E, Hansen Professor of Structural Biology and chair, department of integrative structural and computational biology, Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, The Scripps Research Institute

Speaker bio(s)

Until relatively recently, most antibodies to influenza virus were thought to be strain-specific and protect only against highly related strains within the same subtype. Since 2008, many human antibodies have been isolated that are much broader and neutralize across different subtypes and types of influenza viruses through binding to functionally conserved sites. The major surface antigen, the hemagglutinin (HA), of influenza virus is the main target of these neutralizing antibodies. Dr. Wilson’s laboratory has determined the crystal structures of several broadly neutralizing human antibodies in complex with a variety of different HAs and has shown that they bind to the highly conserved functional sites on the HA fusion domain (stem) in influenza A as well as influenza B viruses, as well as to the receptor binding site. The characterization of these broadly neutralizing antibodies along with their mode of binding and neutralization has provided exciting new opportunities for structure-assisted vaccine design and for design of therapeutics that afford greater protection against influenza viruses. Indeed, a mini-HA immunogen that was designed to mimic the highly conserved HA stem elicited a protective response against different influenza subtypes, such as H1N1 and H5N1, in mice and monkeys and is a promising proof of concept for development of a more universal flu vaccine. Dr. Wilson’s laboratory has also recently determined the structure of a broad antiviral small molecule, arbidol, to elucidate its binding site and mechanism of action. This work has been supported by National Institutes of Health grants AI117675, AI117905, HHSN2722014, and GM094586, and Janssen/Crucell.

 

Dr. Wilson’s laboratory focuses on immune recognition and, in particular, on how pathogens are recognized by the adaptive and innate immune systems. His laboratory has determined the crystal structures of many different antibodies (>250) with a variety of antigens, as well as MHC class I and class II, CD1, T cell receptors, cytokine receptors, Toll-like receptors, and other key pattern recognition receptors. His current focus is on how microbial pathogens are neutralized by broadly neutralizing antibodies of the immune system, particularly influenza virus, HIV-1, and HCV, including recent crystal structures for the HIV-1 gp140 envelope glycoprotein and the HCV E2 surface glycoprotein.

 

Dr. Wilson received his B.Sc. in biochemistry from the University of Edinburgh and his D.Phil. in molecular biophysics from Oxford University. He conducted postdoctoral research at Harvard University and was awarded a D.Sc. from Oxford University. In 1982, Dr. Wilson joined The Scripps Research Institute, where he is the Hansen Professor of Structural Biology and chair of the department of integrative structural and computational biology. From 2000 to 2016, Dr. Wilson directed the Joint Center for Structural Genomics (JCSG), which has pioneered new methods for high-throughput structural studies, including x-ray and NMR. The JCSG determined over 1,600 novel structures since its inception, and was one of four high-throughput production centers in the Protein Structure Initiative (PSI:Biology) of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Dr. Wilson sits on the statistics board of reviewing editors for Science, the editorial board of Cell, and the board of directors of Keystone Symposia. He has published more than 695 papers and is a fellow of the Royal Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a corresponding fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and a foreign associate of the National Academy of Sciences.

Open to

Public

Host

Michel Nussenzweig, M.D., Ph.D.

Reception

Refreshments, 3:15 p.m. - 3:45 p.m., Abby Lounge

Contact

Justin Sloboda

Phone

(212) 327-7785

Sponsor

Justin Sloboda
(212) 327-7785
jsloboda@rockefeller.edu

Readings

http://librarynews.rockefeller.edu/?cat=640