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Jennifer Humberd Smith - Tripp Lab, UGA

Viral Immunology: Tripp Laboratory

Jennifer Humberd Smith, PhD

Jennifer Humberd at work

jhumberd@uga.edu

Office: (706) 542-8021

Animal Health Research Center, room 113

Research Interests

My research interests are broad, ranging from understanding the biology of influenza A viruses to developing novel disease intervention strategies and developing novel delivery methods for influenza vaccines and antiviral compounds. As a project member of the NIAID Southeast Regional Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance I am involved in investigating the determinants of inter- and intra-species transmission of H5N1 avian influenza viruses in small animal models of influenza infection.
My primary research interest is improving vaccination strategies. Each year it is estimated that seasonal influenza is responsible for about 40,000 deaths in the United States and up to 150,000 hospitalizations. Despite the availability of two currently licensed vaccines against influenza: trivalent inactivated virus vaccine (TIV) and live-attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), influenza is the most common cause of vaccine preventable morbidity and mortality. While both vaccines reduce virus shedding and the severity of respiratory symptoms, TIV has a lower rate of efficacy (71%) in preventing laboratory confirmed influenza compared to LAIV (85%), and efficacy is more variable among high risk populations such as children and the elderly. The highly variable nature of the genome has allowed the epidemiological success of the virus in nature because it allows the virus to quickly evolve and escape the host immune response. This leads to seasonal vaccine mismatch with circulating influenza strains. In addition, vaccination does not confer protection against the introduction of novel influenza virus strains such as the highly pathogenic avian influenza strains of the H5 and H7 subtype. There is a great need to develop more effective vaccines against influenza that are also induce broad protection within and across subtypes. We are currently investigating aerosol exposure as an approach to broaden the immune response to influenza and improve current influenza vaccination strategies.
Another area of interest is the development of novel therapeutics against influenza infection. There are two classes of anti-viral drugs used to treat influenza infection; M2-ion channel blockers and neuraminidase inhibitors. The M2-ion channel blockers are rarely used because they can quickly induce resistance due to point mutations in the virus and many influenza strains are naturally resistant. Neuraminidase inhibitors have been an important component of treatment of influenza virus infection. However, neuraminidase inhibitors must be administered within 48 hours of onset of symptoms and resistant strains have emerged. Additionally, in the past decade novel influenza virus strains, the highly pathogenic avian influenza strains of the H5 and H7 subtype, naturally resistant to the current antiviral drugs have been introduced into the human population. No new antiviral compounds against influenza infection have been approved since 1999. Our laboratory is investigating the use of siRNA-based therapeutics as novel anti-influenza compounds for the treatment of influenza infection.

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Publications

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