UCIrvine granted 3.93M to create HSV vaccine from National Institute of Health

“ UC Irvine researcher secures nearly $4 million NIH grant to advance therapeutic vaccine to help end genital herpes

Funding supports an innovative ‘Prime/Pull/Keep’ strategy to achieve long-lasting protection against HSV-2

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - IRVINE

University of California, Irvine immunologist Lbachir BenMohamed has been awarded a $3.93 million National Institutes of Health grant to develop and test a novel therapeutic vaccine designed to prevent recurrent genital herpes, a lifelong viral infection that affects more than 60 million Americans and over 530 million people worldwide.

The five-year R01 NIH award will support research on a next-generation vaccine strategy that could provide long-lasting protection against recurrent outbreaks of herpes simplex virus type 2, the leading cause of genital herpes. The project, titled “A Novel Prime/Pull/Keep Vaccine to Prevent Recurrent Genital Herpes,” builds on years of research conducted by BenMohamed and his collaborators.

“Despite decades of research, people living with recurrent genital herpes still have no therapeutic vaccine option,” said BenMohamed, professor of immunology and director of the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Immunology in the UC Irvine School of Medicine. “This award allows us to advance an innovative immune-based strategy that not only boosts protective T cells but directs them to the tissues where the virus hides and reactivates*.*”

“Our goal is to develop a safe and durable therapeutic vaccine that can reduce recurrent disease, limit transmission, and ultimately improve the lives of millions of people worldwide,” he added.

Unlike traditional vaccine approaches that primarily stimulate antibody responses, the new strategy is designed to strengthen and sustain specialized immune cells known as tissue-resident memory T cells at the sites where HSV-2 establishes lifelong infection. The vaccine’s “Prime/Pull/Keep” approach works by first priming protective immune cells, then directing them to infected tissues, and finally maintaining them there to provide long-term immune surveillance.

BenMohamed’s team has already generated promising preclinical results. Previous studies demonstrated that therapeutic mRNA vaccine candidates reduced recurrent genital herpes in animal models and boosted protective immune responses in tissues where the virus establishes lifelong infection. Additional research showed that targeted immune-signaling molecules could recruit and maintain protective T cells in those tissues, further improving protection.

The new NIH-funded project will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of Prime/Pull/Keep vaccine candidates in preclinical models and investigate how increasing the number, function, and longevity of tissue-resident immune cells correlates with protection against recurrent disease.

“Results from the preclinical studies of the Prime/Pull/Keep vaccine candidates will identify the best candidate vaccine, paving the way for future clinical trials*,*” said BenMohamed. “This will bring us closer to a long-sought therapeutic vaccine capable of reducing recurrent outbreaks and limiting transmission of HSV-2. The project aligns with NIH priorities to develop new therapeutic strategies for genital herpes.”

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UC Irvine is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and is ranked among the nation’s top 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. The campus has produced five Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation, and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UC Irvine has more than 36,000 students and offers 224-degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $7 billion annually to the local economy and $8 billion statewide. For more on UC Irvine, visit www.uci.edu.

Media access: Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus studio with a Comtrex IP audio codec to interview UC Irvine faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UC Irvine news, visit news.uci.edu. Additional resources for journalists may be found at https://news.uci.edu/media-resources/. “

eurekalert.org

u/Pomme-M — 4 days ago

▲ 1 r/Greenhouses

Cedar Kit Greenhouse - To seal or not to seal..

To seal or not to seal, that is the question.. using what and importantly, when.. as kits can be coated prior to installation or. after.

I’ve read lots of posts about this, but most asking questions, unfortunately few showing results over time.

Plenty ask whether to treat only the exterior or interior too.. and I know to definitely do the inside, considering how much condensation greenhouses can accumulate, you’ll want to treat the wood to stop moisture from getting in. here it’s a matter of when and what you seal and what product you use. As mentioned in many many posts, the Thompson’s Waterseal products are a waterproofing blend that soaks in to the upper layers of the wood, creating a barrier against moisture soaking in.

But the barrier Thompson‘s uses isn’t like other stains, in that it also contains waxes ( which take a long time to set, but in my experience, never truly cure fully, the sun melts wax after all, it might be reactivating itself continuously, but it’s always waxy on the surface level.) I’ve used it on the raised wooden plank walls of a trailer we have that has a solid aluminum bed and ferrous framing and hardware. We first treated this in about 2008 and it’s worked great, used and abused until 2024, when we repainted the worn looking metal components with enamel.

This Spring (to even out the dark and light of the weathered wood) we pre stained the wood with a quick wash of very wet watered down satin finish brown exterior latex, Working quickly with a 4” wide brush on a warm day, we then waited a week and then applied a heavy coat of Thompson’s. It unexpectedly rained within two days and the surface shed water perfectly.

That was about a month ago and it’s finally set about as fully as it ever will. It‘s important to point out that if you use Thompson’s on a greenhouse before putting it together, you’ll be risking swell in the wood, potentially making it harder to fit pcs together, as well as possibly tightening up the already tight rabbets the polycarbonate panels slide into.. you can always pre-sand those out a little with sandpaper folded around a skewer, rod or dowel, but remember those slots are made with tolerances machined to fit tightly to start.

I realize using Thompson’s before buildout would also risk getting waxy residue handprints all over the clean shiny new panels as we install them.

Because it’s suggested in many kits to use a silicone sealant around panels, pre staining with Thompson’s would likely result in a lack of adhesion due to the waxy finish. In other words, wood that’s been water sealed may not allow caulking , silicone or anything else to adhere.

You can call this solvent incompatibility, and you’d be right, but that also supports the fact that Thompson’s isn’t really compatible with anything else ( which is why we used a thinned down wash on the trailer, so the color sank in and the pores weren’t occluded , so the Thompson's would seat well later. ) It’s true: once you’ve used it, unless you sand the hell out of everything, you’ll never be able to paint, seal or stain it a color with any non Thompson's product, because of the WAX.

Wood maintenance is a pain, but think about it, the reason so many greenhouses are made of cedar in the first place is because of the weather and bug resistance. Cedar oil is another wood preservative, I’ve used a product called Petriwood on new exterior framing, barns, sheds, docks, decks for years. I’ve even sealed brick with it and sprayed it on gravel before topping perimeter beds with it, because its a natural pest barrier. yes, it’s expensive but it works, especially to add natural oil back into wood that helps keep out moisture as well as keep away insects. yes you’d have the same oil vs silicone conundrum.. whaddyado?

Painting wood, yes even varnishing, forms a rigid coating that once dry is subject to the shrink and swell cycle that wood experiences ( especially outdoors in the sun.) so rigid coatings eventually flake off- unless well bedded, light colored and contains more stretch like some latex finishes, although those will eventually fail too unless maintained.)

I really wonder why greenhouse makers coat cedar with something they don’t identify. It’s most likely a “sanding sealer” applied after finish sanding to keep dust down and stop humidity from affecting warehoused stock. Sanding sealer dries hard, is clear and easy to apply. It will crack and need to be reapplied or.. something else will need to be used. But it won’t stop you working over it. Scuffing wood up will also help whatever you use next to stick.

I’m asking what others have done because in this same boat myself now and knowing what i know, I’m still looking for an answer. I do know many people in coastal parts of the N.E. US use Sikkens products on exterior wood, porches, fences, shutters, shingles, even docks. Sikkens also makes products used on boats. Sikkens is $pendy, but worth it.

Food for thought on sealing rabbets and poly panel perimeters.. several greenhouse sources I’ve been reading mention using some sort of rubber or silicone spline or gasketing material up in the groove to seal any gaps. This is appealing because if you ever need to replace a panel, as sharp as they are, itd be nice if they could just slide back out, instead of presenting you with a sharp and gummy frontier to conquer.

Please, what have you used, how has it fared over time? Did you coat before building, or after? How would you get to the top of the roof, anyway? All helpful thoughts, advice and experience are greatly appreciated.

u/Pomme-M — 16 days ago

▲ 2 r/BreadMachines

ISO Osipoto/Zokop recipe for Gluten Free white bread THAT RISES

Hello and thank you to all responding. Newish to this but after a few flatter than expected loaves, following recipes from authors who are writing specifically about the BM8205 (which is a two pound loaf machine) I’m looking to get a rise out of yall ( and it.)

Heres the RECIPE we have used

2½ cups gluten-free all-purpose flour blend

1 1/4 cups warm water
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp dry yeast
1 tbsp tapioca starch

Hmm, the dough looks more like batter each time ( which we read is somewhat normal for GF bread.) No yeast touched liquid that we could see. WE used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 GF flour, yes, we used warmish water, all ingredients room temp.. set it on medium crust and happened to notice it kneads twice with a rest in between… which I had read somewhere was a no no? As it, it shouldn’t knead a second time as that interrupts the rise?

This machine had additional features like dough, mix, knead and bake, but I’ve no idea how to allow for longer or even a single rise period and there seems to be no customer support, wouldntchaknow?

This machine is supposed to be beginner friendly and “ automatic,” we followed the recipe and instructions to the letter as if we were in a laboratory. We aren’t at any elevation, so that’s not it. As it is, if we do this a couple of thousand more times we can build a new garden path, because the loaves are like bricks. Dentist will benefit from the effect on human teeth.

So I’m hoping someone has noodled around with one of these and come up with a brilliant solution that yields lighter airier Gluten Free bread. The yeast has a date of July 26 on it, is Food Lion Fast Rise Yeast ( labeled as good for bread makers) and we used 80 degree water, but the loaves came out about 2.5” high.

Good thing the yeast has a double your money back guarantee? I guess.. but I’d rather have had a high rising loaf that won’t cause our teeth to fail.

Many thanks to all who reply, and many many thanks to this sub for the opportunity to post!

reddit.com

u/Pomme-M — 2 months ago

▲ 4 r/sailing

Looking for suggestions from people who ratchet their boat down to a trailer. We got a recognizable brand name set a year ago and they’ve rusted beyond being functional in that time with the boat sitting on the trailer in a fairly sheltered area. TIA to any in the Sailing Hive Mind who will share their solutions

reddit.com

u/Pomme-M — 3 months ago