Miscellaneous
When Galit Alter, PhD, immunologist and virologist, began her career during the peak of the HIV/AIDS crisis, there were few researchers who were studying the immune system in the context of infectious diseases. She quickly became curious about how the human immune system fights different viruses and how uncovering this knowledge could significantly impact the way vaccines are developed. In this episode of Charged, Dr. Alter, a self-described "virus hunter," talks about the mechanisms by which the immune system fights disease, how she and her team created a novel serology tool that profiles the body's antibody response to both viruses and vaccines, and how this tool was employed during the COVID-19 pandemic.