Wed 14 May 15:00: Structural characterisation of Trypanosoma cruzi antigens for diagnostic and therapeutic applications
Wednesday 14th May 2025, 3-4pm, Seminar Room, Department of Pharmacology, Tennis Court Road, CB2 1PD
Abstract: Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is an increasing global public health concern killing 12,000 people per annum worldwide and estimated to infect eight million individuals, with the majority remaining undiagnosed. Despite its health impact in both endemic and non-endemic areas, no vaccine is available, and the existing therapies are outdated, producing severe side effects.
Two conserved T. cruzi blood-stage antigens, called TcPOP and Tc24, have recently been identified as the key virulence factors and are the leading candidates for Chagas vaccine development.
In this seminar, Ivan will present the cryo-EM structure of TcPOP in open and closed conformation (Fig.1) and discuss on-going work to characterise the immunogenicity of both antigens, for therapeutic and diagnostic applications, using an integrative structural approach.
Biography: Dr Ivan Campeotto obtained his BSc and MSc in Industrial Biotechnology from the University of Padua (Italy) and a PhD in structural biology from the University of Leeds (UK) before moving to King’s College London, Imperial College London and the University of Oxford, to apply a structural approach to the fields of enzyme engineering, bacteriology and parasitology, respectively.
His group currently focuses on structure-guided vaccine development in the fields of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) and emerging viruses with particular focus on Chagas disease. His collaborators include parasitologists, virologists and immunologists from University of Nottingham, London School of Hygiene Tropical Medicine, University of Oxford, University of Copenhagen, University of Buenos Aires, Rosalind Franklin Institute and University of Cambridge.
One of his main research streams lies in the design and production of immunogens from human and animal pathogens, for the generation of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), which are produced, isolated and tested for their diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Another research stream lies on the determination of antigen-antibody complexes, which are used to guide the design and development of vaccine prototypes via epitopes conjugation to engineered Virus-Like-Particles (VLPs), upon computational epitope crafting.
- Speaker: Ivan Campeotto, Assistant Professor in Microbial Biotechnology
- Wednesday 14 May 2025, 15:00-16:00
- Venue: Seminar Room (Level 2), Dept of Pharmacology .
- Series: Department of Pharmacology Seminar Series; organiser: comms.
Thu 15 May 16:00: Prof. Jonathan Wilson Yewdell, Senior Investigator Cellular Biology and Viral Immunology Section, NIAID/DIR
This Cambridge Immunology and Medicine Seminar will take place on Thursday 29 May 2025, starting at 4:00pm, in the Ground Floor Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre (JCBC)
Speaker: Prof. Jonathan W Yewdell, Senior Investigator Cellular Biology Cellular Biology and Viral Immunology Section, The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Title: TBC
Host: Prof. Louise Boyle, Department of Pathology, Cambridge
Refreshments will be available following the seminar.
- Speaker: Prof. Jonathan W Yewdell, Senior Investigator Cellular Biology Cellular Biology and Viral Immunology Section, The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
- Thursday 15 May 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
- Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Ruth Paton.