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Research Projects

Research Projects

Dr. Mark Cameron

01

Identify pro-inflammatory gene correlates of pathogenesis in human subjects versus animal models and mechanisms of their abatement via vaccines or therapies in infectious disease.

Our focus is on identifying pro-inflammatory gene correlates of pathogenesis in human subjects versus animal models and mechanisms of their abatement via vaccines or therapies in infectious disease, including HIV, SARS and COVID-19. Recent studies assessing natural disease course in human patients and a SARS-CoV infection-reinfection model in ferrets identified and confirmed robust SARS immunopathogenesis biomarkers (e.g. CXCL10) and the targeted benefits of steroid therapy in key windows of human disease course. The ferret study moved on to identify correlates of immune protection during SARS challenge in ferrets previously infected with SARS or immunized with a candidate SARS vaccine. Similar studies in WNV, high-path bird flu in ferrets, SIV infection in NHP, and HIV have helped gain an understanding across very different studies of the role of balance between different IFN signaling gene signatures and the inflammasome in regulating the innate and adaptive immune interface in response to inflammatory disease. This foundation of knowledge in IFNs and the inflammasome has now populated our database across many inflammatory disorders or dysregulated immunity and provides an important resource for polling pro-inflammatory gene and cytokine networks, etc., by comparing new data to a wide variety of our published (including other public data) and unpublished data, most recently in mapping out biomarkers of severe acute COVID-19 and its after-effects in those that survive.

02

Applying novel, low input, multi-omic assays and translation expertise to assess the genome and functional genome of difficult clinical samples from clinical studies and trials. 

To make the best use of these data, I have developed bioinformatic workflows that produce digestible reports that are also standardized and interface with a growing correlate signature database. My goal is to employ high capacity technology and biostatistical/computational tools and translate bioinformatic results for biology and immunological targets and repurposable drug mining.

03

Identify cell subset specific transcriptomic signatures over injury, immune system development and cell survival/differentiation for application to clinical studies at the low input, single cell, or spatial (Illumina/10X/Nanostring) level.

Our ultra-low-input transcriptomic platform and biological translation helped define pathways for human dendritic cell (DC) development that include sequential origin of DCs from increasingly restricted progenitors that lead to either granulocyte-monocyte-DC progenitors or monocyte-dendritic progenitors, and finally monocytes and three major DC subsets. This approach and resulting developmental and/or cell subset specific datasets have been integrated and applied to studies of the aging innate immune system, drug-induced transcriptional profiling, the developmental programs of CD8+ T cell differentiation during vaccination, as well as the more recent identification of epigenetic silencing in CD4 cells, blood pressure biomarkers in psoriasis, the role of MSCs in incontinence injury, and gender-related T reg modulation in IBD. Collectively, these studies highlight my more senior-level contributions in the broad meta- and translational potential of my workflows and expertise, e.g. prediction of immunotherapy resistance in melanoma patients via novel T cell subsets, in that new collaborative data can be integrated and benchmarked against existing internal and public datasets.

Dr. Cheryl Cameron

01

Apply strategic complex immunological approaches to assessing the host response to virus in HIV, influenza, SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2, and poxvirus infection models.

We have identified correlates or biological targets that proved useful in small molecule and immunotherapy in improving outcome in each. Studies assessing natural disease course in human patients and a SARS-CoV infection model in ferrets identified and confirmed robust SARS immunopathogenesis biomarkers (i.e. CXCL10) and the targeted benefits of steroid therapy in key windows of human disease course. Current studies on SARS-CoV-2 and the host response are part of a long-term collaboration with coronavirus researchers at UNC and internationally and include the development of computational algorithms to repurpose drugs based on immunological transcriptomic data from clinical studies.

02

HIV Research:

I have generated multiple hypotheses regarding mechanisms of immunologic function and/or dysregulation from transcriptomic analysis in very specific immune subsets. This work has led to a variety of collaborations as I tackle my more recent goals of identifying common immunophenotypic, metabolic and transcriptomic signatures of dysregulated immune function in cancer, vaccine response and inflammatory disease for broad application to clinical studies.

03

Host response to drug and immunomodulatory treatment.

I have expertise in integrating multiomic data, including microbiome and lipidomic data, as well as using a systems approach to studying the host response to drug and immunomodulatory treatment.

04

Applied immunologic approaches:

We have applied immunologic approaches to analyzing the host response to both SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in human and animal models, as well as analyzing the host response to influenza infection and vaccination in human and animal models.

Work Desk

Publication Highlights

Research in the Cameron labs focuses on using genomic technologies and bioinformatic methods to identify biomarkers (immune correlates) of infectious diseases and chronic inflammatory conditions. Understanding the mechanisms that drive differences in immunological response to cancer and infectious diseases such as HIV and COVID, is also of great interest to both laboratories.  Ultimately, this work helps to identify novel targets or diagnostics that can be used in specific immunotherapy or vaccine design.

Publicatin highlights

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic impact on nursing home (NH) residents prompted their prioritization for early vaccination. To fill the data gap for vaccine immunogenicity in NH residents, we examined antibody levels after BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine to spike, receptor binding domain (RBD) and for virus neutralization in 149 NH residents and 111 health care worker controls. SARS-CoV-2-naive NH residents mount antibody responses with nearly 4-fold lower median neutralization titers and half the anti-spike level compared to SARS-CoV-2-naive healthcare workers. By contrast, SARS-CoV-2-recovered vaccinated NH residents had neutralization, anti-spike and anti-RBD titers similar to SARS-CoV-2-recovered vaccinated healthcare workers. NH residents’ blunted antibody responses have important implications regarding the quality and durability of protection afforded by neoantigen vaccines. We urgently need better longitudinal evidence on vaccine effectiveness specific to NH resident populations to inform best practices for NH infection control measures, outbreak prevention and potential indication for a vaccine boost.

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Development of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines is a global priority and the best hope for ending the COVID-19 pandemic. Remarkably, in less than 1 year, vaccines have been developed and shown to be efficacious and are already being deployed worldwide. Yet, many challenges remain. Immune senescence and comorbidities in aging populations and immune dysregulation in populations living in low-resource settings may impede vaccine effectiveness. Distribution of vaccines among these populations where vaccine access is historically low remains challenging. In this Review, we address these challenges and provide strategies for ensuring that vaccines are developed and deployed for those most vulnerable.

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The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic impact on nursing home (NH) residents prompted their prioritization for early vaccination. To fill the data gap for vaccine immunogenicity in NH residents, we examined antibody levels after BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine to spike, receptor binding domain (RBD) and for virus neutralization in 149 NH residents and 111 health care worker controls. SARS-CoV-2-naive NH residents mount antibody responses with nearly 4-fold lower median neutralization titers and half the anti-spike level compared to SARS-CoV-2-naive healthcare workers. By contrast, SARS-CoV-2-recovered vaccinated NH residents had neutralization, anti-spike and anti-RBD titers similar to SARS-CoV-2-recovered vaccinated healthcare workers. NH residents’ blunted antibody responses have important implications regarding the quality and durability of protection afforded by neoantigen vaccines. We urgently need better longitudinal evidence on vaccine effectiveness specific to NH resident populations to inform best practices for NH infection control measures, outbreak prevention and potential indication for a vaccine boost.

Picture1.png

Development of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines is a global priority and the best hope for ending the COVID-19 pandemic. Remarkably, in less than 1 year, vaccines have been developed and shown to be efficacious and are already being deployed worldwide. Yet, many challenges remain. Immune senescence and comorbidities in aging populations and immune dysregulation in populations living in low-resource settings may impede vaccine effectiveness. Distribution of vaccines among these populations where vaccine access is historically low remains challenging. In this Review, we address these challenges and provide strategies for ensuring that vaccines are developed and deployed for those most vulnerable.

Covid 19

In the Media

news highlights

Listen to Dr. Mark Cameron discuss the ongoing COVID pandemic with local and national news outlets

In the News

01

Do you still need to quarantine if you have COVID?

Yahoo!news, 2023

02

The common places COVID Omicron subvariants are spreading

HuffPost, 2022

03

United States passes one million COVID deaths

BBC News, 2022

04

Moderna is developing 2 new vaccines - and 1 could protect against the common cold.

Health.com, 2022

05

CDC loosens up on COVID-19 guidelines, dropping quarantine after exposure and social distancing 

ABC 5 News Cleveland, 2022

06

New omicron XE COVID variant first detected in the UK spreads to Japan as cases rise

CNBC, 2022

07

The puzzle of America's record COVID hospital rate

BBC News, 2022

08

Daily US death toll from COVID now matches Delta

BBC News, 2022

09

Why is Canada's COVID death rate so much lower than US?

BBC News, 2022

10

Demand for COVID-19 tests surge ahead of Christmas holiday

WKYC, 2021

11

COVID will never go away

Medium, 2021

12

More than 40% of people with COVID-19 never show symptoms, study finds. What experts have learned about these cases

USA Today, 2021

13

Looking back at the coronavirus pandemic a year after the first US case

Ideastream Public Media, 2021

14

Natural vs. vaccine immunity and what a disease immunologist says about the science 

ABC News 5 Cleveland, 2021

15

Local researcher applying lessons learned from 2003 SARS outbreak to coronavirus

ABC News 5 Cleveland, 2020

16

How soon could we see a coronavirus vaccine? A local expert weighs in.

Cleveland Fox 8 News, 2020

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