Immunity to SARS-CoV-2 post-vaccination and infection in people who live without a functioning spleen

The spleen is an important organ of the immune system and it is often removed for the treatment of different medical conditions, to perform surgery on nearby organs and removed as a consequence of physical trauma. In addition, some people are born without a spleen or their spleen does not function due to haematological and autoimmune diseases. Living without a functioning spleen increases a person’s risk of infection with encapsulated bacteria that can cause pneumonia, sepsis and meningitis. People living without a spleen need to monitor for signs of infection and are often required to take lifelong preventative antibiotics. However, less is understood on how living without a functioning spleen impacts a person’s antiviral immune responses to viral infections and vaccination. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic poses a continued threat to public health and wellbeing, especially in people who have a compromised immune system and have impaired immune responses to vaccination. The aim of this project is to profile the immune response to COVID-19 vaccination in people who live without a functioning spleen and to characterise immunodeficiencies within this diverse group. Cellular and serological responses will be measured at multiple time points before and post-vaccination using flow cytometric based assays, ELISA and neutralising antibody assays. Students will work within a multidisciplinary team of virologists, immunologists, clinicians, and nurses across Monash Health and Alfred Health. There will be opportunities to coordinate collection and processing of blood samples taken from participants and to gain experience collaborating with consumer health organisation Spleen Australia. Top-up scholarships are available.