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The workshop focuses on the current state of vaccine development for the Dengue, Zika, and Chikungunya viruses. All three viruses are carried and transmitted by mosquitoes and at this stage do not have vaccines that can protect the population from their ill effects.
 
The phenomenon of Antibody Dependent Enhancement (ADE) across viruses and within different strains of the same virus will be discussed. Both Zika and Dengue are caused by Flaviviruses, while Chikungunya is caused by an Alpha virus. An interesting feature of Zika and Dengue is the effect of pre-existing immunity to one virus on the disease progression of the other virus in the host. Antibodies to Dengue from a prior infection, may cause ADE of the Zika infection. Similar results are also seen with Dengue infections, where pre-existing antibodies to one strain of the virus were found to cause more severe disease upon subsequent infection with another strain of the Dengue virus. This particular complication has derailed the success of an otherwise effective vaccine recently tested for Dengue virus. The recognition of ADE and how it affects future vaccine development strategies will be discussed during the workshop. 

Program Agenda:

8:00 AM – 8:40 AM:  Registration and Breakfast
8:45 AM – 9:30 AM:  Development of Vaccines against Chikungunya Virus - a Global Emerging Pathogen, Jonathan Smith, Ph.D., Clear Path Vaccines
9:30 AM –10:15 AM:  Successes and Challenges in the Development of an Effective Vaccine against Dengue, Amitabh Gaur, Ph. D., George Washington University
10:15 AM –10:30 AM:  Coffee Break
10:30 AM –11:15 AM:  Zika and Dengue Viruses: An Ambiguous Cross-reactivity, Annie Elong Ngono, Ph.D., Center for Infectious Diseases, La Jolla Institute for Immunology
11:15 AM –12:00 PM:  Human T cell Responses to Dengue Virus and it's Implication for Vaccine Design, Daniela Weiskopf, Ph.D., Center for Infectious Diseases, La Jolla Institute for Immunology
12:00 PM –12:30 PM:  Identification of Small Chemical Compounds Inhibiting Zika virus Through a Large-Scale High-Content Screening Approach, Laura Riva, Ph.D.,  Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute
12:30 PM –1:00 PM:  Panel discussion
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM:  Lunch and Networking
 

Course Number: WKSP-80039
Credit: 0.00 unit(s)