Antibody-Epitope Descriptions Guide the Design of Next-Generation Biomedical Interventions against Malaria
Jean-Philippe Julien
Associate Professor, Departments of Biochemistry and Immunology
University of Toronto
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
2:30 p.m.
In-person: C2-361
Abstract: Malaria continues to pose a significant burden to global health. A strong need exists for the development of a diverse panel of intervention strategies and modalities to combat malaria. Deploying interventions that target bottlenecks in the transmission life cycle of the causative agent of malaria, Plasmodium parasites, is an attractive strategy. The development of highly potent antibody-based biologics, including vaccines, can be greatly facilitated by an in-depth molecular understanding of antibody-epitope interactions. We and others have structurally characterized antibodies targeting lead vaccine candidates expressed during the bottlenecks of the Plasmodium life cycle, which include the pre-erythrocytic and sexual stages. The repeat region of the circumsporozoite protein (CSP), domain 1 of Pfs230 and domains 1 and 3 of Pfs48/45 are critical Plasmodium regions targeted by the most potent antibodies at the two bottlenecks of transmission as parasites transit between the human host and mosquito vector. Vaccine candidates are being engineered to target specifically these epitopes towards the development of next-generation biomedical interventions that can aid in meeting the ambitious goals of malaria elimination and eradication.
Jean-Philippe Julien received his B.Sc. from McGill University, obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto, and trained as a postdoctoral fellow at The Scripps Research Institute. In 2014, he joined the Molecular Medicine Program at the Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute and the Departments of Biochemistry and Immunology at the University of Toronto where he leads a team of multi-disciplinary researchers. His laboratory focuses on the molecular characterization of antibodies by studies of their interactions with a variety of viral, bacterial, parasitic and cell-surface antigens, providing the atomic blueprints for the development of next-generation therapeutics and vaccines. Notably, he is the Canada Research Chair in Structural Immunology and a Member of the College of the Royal Society of Canada.