Vanderbilt and Human Vaccines Project launch initial studies to decode the human immune system

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center this month began recruiting volunteers to participate in a clinical trial aimed at decoding the human “immunome,” the genetic underpinnings of the immune system. The study is the first phase of an international effort led by the Human Vaccines Project, a public-private partnership of academic research centers, industry, non-profits and government agencies designed to accelerate the development of next-generation vaccines and immunotherapies. “I am tremendously excited to launch the Project’s Human Immunome Program, and look forward to generating important new data that should facilitate vaccine design for both infectious diseases and cancers,” said James Crowe Jr., M.D., director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, in a news release. “The Project remains committed to rapid, open source communication of these data, to enable the community of global scientists to advance new and fundamental insights on how the human immune system can be mobilized more effectively to fight disease,” Crowe...