John Altman PhD
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Associate Professor
- (404) 727-5981
- jaltman@emory.edu
- NIH Tetramer Facility
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Emory Vaccine Center at Emory National Primate Research Center
954 Gatewood Rd, NE
Overview
While most efficacious vaccines are thought to work through elicitation of neutralizing antibodies, the pathogens that cause diseases such as AIDS and malaria are notoriously difficult to neutralize with antibodies, leading vaccine developers to test the efficacy of vaccines designed specifically to elicit strong T cell responses, in the hope that a rapid secondary T cell response could limit early dissemination of the pathogen before it has the opportunity to establish a chronic infection. These efforts are complicated by the fact that antigen-specific memory T cell populations are phenotypically heterogeneous, and the role of defined subpopulations in secondary immune responses remains hotly debated. Our MHC tetramer technology has played an essential role in defining the distribution of T cell subsets specific for a variety of pathogens, and this continues to be a central focus of the work in our laboratory. We are interested in both defining the relationships between T cell phenotypes and effector functions that can be assessed using short-term in vitro assays (that do not require amplification of T cell populations), as well as using adoptive transfer experiments in mouse models that permit in vivo testing of the efficacy of purified T cell subsets. In support of these studies, we are actively engaged in the development of new technologies that will (1) permit more rapid assessment of T cell responses to large pathogens as well as mapping of T cell epitopes and (2) permit multiparametric flow cytometry assessment of T cell phenotypes.
Research Topics:
-Cellular And Molecular Immunology
-Development Of Novel Vaccines
-Emerging Infectious Diseases
-Viral Pathogenesis
Academic Appointment
- Affiliate Scientist, Emory Regional Primate Center of Emory University
- Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine
- Affiliate Scientist, Emory Vaccine Center
Education
Degrees
- SB from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- PhD from University of California
Research
Focus
- The research of my laboratory is focused upon the induction, function, trafficking, and regulation of antiviral T cell immune responses. We pursue studies in mouse, nonhuman primate, and human models, with the ultimate goal of developing principles and applications that result in improved vaccines for humans
Publications
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Frequency-potency analysis of IgG+ memory B cells delineates neutralizing antibody responses at single-cell resolution.
Cell Rep Volume: 43 Page(s): 113948
03/26/2024 Authors: Tenggara MK; Oh S-H; Yang C; Nariya HK; Metz AM; Upadhyay AA; Gudipati DR; Guo L; McGhee EG; Gill K -
Rare Variable M. tuberculosis Antigens induce predominant Th17 responses in human infection.
bioRxiv
03/06/2024 Authors: Ogongo P; Wassie L; Tran A; Columbus D; Sharling L; Ouma G; Ouma SG; Bobosha K; Lindestam Arlehamn CS; Gandhi NR -
CD1 lipidomes reveal lipid-binding motifs and size-based antigen-display mechanisms.
Cell Volume: 186 Page(s): 4583 - 4596.e13
10/12/2023 Authors: Huang S; Shahine A; Cheng T-Y; Chen Y-L; Ng SW; Balaji GR; Farquhar R; Gras S; Hardman CS; Altman JD -
The Long-Awaited Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccine.
J Interferon Cytokine Res Volume: 43 Page(s): 285 - 286
07/01/2023 Authors: Altman JD; Rouse BT -
Spheromers reveal robust Tcell responses to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and attenuated peripheral CD8+ Tcell responses post SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Immunity Volume: 56 Page(s): 864 - 878.e4
04/11/2023 Authors: Gao F; Mallajosyula V; Arunachalam PS; van der Ploeg K; Manohar M; Rltgen K; Yang F; Wirz O; Hoh R; Haraguchi E -
The Impact of Diabetes and Prediabetes on Prevalence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection Among Household Contacts of Active Tuberculosis Cases in Ethiopia.
Open Forum Infect Dis Volume: 9 Page(s): ofac323
07/01/2022 Authors: Smith AGC; Kempker RR; Wassie L; Bobosha K; Nizam A; Gandhi NR; Auld SC; Magee MJ; Blumberg HM; Tuberculosis Research Unit: Role of Antigen Specific Responses in the Control of TB (TBRU-ASTRa) Study Group -
T cells in COVID-19 - the kids are all right.
Nat Immunol Volume: 23 Page(s): 647 - 649
05/01/2022 Authors: Altman JD -
Minimal Information about MHC Multimers (MIAMM).
J Immunol Volume: 208 Page(s): 531 - 537
02/01/2022 Authors: Vita R; Mody A; Overton JA; Buus S; Haley ST; Sette A; Mallajosyula V; Davis MM; Long DL; Willis RA -
CD1a selectively captures endogenous cellular lipids that broadly block T cell response.
J Exp Med Volume: 218
07/05/2021 Authors: Cotton RN; Wegrecki M; Cheng T-Y; Chen Y-L; Veerapen N; Le Nours J; Orgill DP; Pomahac B; Talbot SG; Willis R -
Isoniazid and Rifapentine Treatment Eradicates Persistent Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Macaques (Retraction of Vol 201, Pg 469, 2020)
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF RESPIRATORY AND CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE Volume: 203 Page(s): 1045 - 1045
04/15/2021 Authors: Foreman TW; Bucsan AN; Mehra S; Peloquin C; Doyle LA; Russell-Lodrigue K; Gandhi NR; Altman J; Day CL; Ernst JD