Monoclonal antibodies for SARS-CoV-2 vaccine design and therapeutics

Using new improved methods for plasma cell Ig-cloning and to investigate antigen-staining memory B cell enrichment to isolate novel monoclonal antibodies to emerging virus infection SARS-CoV-2. There will also be the opportunity to utilise phage display techniques as an alternative approach to antibody isolation. Whilst antibody cloning is a key element of the work, the majority of the project will be spent characterising the antibodies to include epitope mapping, development of replication-competent chimeric VSV isolates and their use in antibody escape. There will also be an opportunity to spend the PiP (subject to central agreement) in the labs of one of our international collaborators working on a relevant, but novel aspect of antibody study (e.g. live virus work or structural biology).