Understanding influenza B humoral immunity to improve vaccine design

Abstract

Annual influenza epidemics cause significant morbidity and mortality globally. Although influenza B virus (IBV) is responsible for approximately 25% of the global influenza burden, it remains understudied compared to influenza A virus (IAV). Current influenza vaccines elicit mostly strain- specific antibody responses, so vaccine efficacy is dramatically reduced when mutated variants dominate in circulation. Improved IBV vaccines require a better understanding of humoral immunity against IBV in order to inform improved vaccine design. In this thesis, we examined the human IBV-specific humoral response following influenza vaccination and investigated the potential utility of ferritin nanoparti..