Stephen Carpenter, MD, PhD

We have no reliable vaccine to prevent tuberculosis (TB), a disease that kills 1.5 million people every year globally. CD4 T cells are critical for protection against active TB. Determining the key functions and antigenic targets of T cell responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection would advance vaccine development efforts to prevent active TB. We seek to understand the T cell responses obtained from the lungs and blood of healthy individuals early after exposure to a household member with active pulmonary TB. Using cutting edge single-cell analyses, we will track and compare Mtb-specific T cells at early and late time points after exposure and infection. We will examine how T cell responses change over 3-12 months and estimate which T cell subsets efficiently respond to Mt-infected macrophages. This project will generate immunological benchmarks and candidate antigens for new TB vaccines.

Update: The goal of this project is to advance TB vaccine development by studying T cell responses obtained from the lungs and peripheral blood after exposure to a household member with active pulmonary TB. Using cutting edge single-cell analyses, we are tracking and comparing Mtb-specific T cells at early vs. late time points after the participant develops a positive TB test. In the next phase of our project, we will examine how T cell responses change over 6-12 months among individuals who convert to positive test for Mtb infection and estimate which T cells efficiently respond to Mtb-infected macrophages. This project will generate immunological benchmarks and candidate antigens for TB vaccine development.