Richner Lab

The overall goal of the Richner lab is to define the signaling pathways, cytokine networks, and cellular dynamics which lead to a robust adaptive immune response and immunologic memory following viral infection or vaccination. With this information, we can develop novel prophylactics and therapeutics to combat infectious diseases.

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Increased age is associated with a decrease in the function of the immune response, leading to a greater risk of infectious diseases and reduced vaccine efficacy. One aim of the lab is to uncover the mechanistic underpinning of the defective immune response in aged populations.

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A second aim of the lab is to develop novel vaccine strategies. Recent technological advances have lead to a number of promising vaccine platforms including antigen-coding mRNA vaccines encpasidated in a lipid nanoparticle. Our lab is working to refine these mRNA-LNP vaccines for use in immunosupressed populations as well as combatting infectious diseases which have proven a significant challenge to traditional vaccine development, such as Dengue virus.