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Derek Wilson Cain

Associate Professor in Medicine
Medicine, Duke Human Vaccine Institute
Box 103020, Durham, NC 27710
2 Genome Ct - Rm 4083 Msrbii, Durham, NC 27710

Overview


My research focuses on the interactions of T cells and B cells during infection or following vaccination. I am particularly interested in the inter- and intracellular events that take place within germinal centers, the anatomic site of antibody evolution during an immune response.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Associate Professor in Medicine · 2021 - Present Medicine, Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Medicine
Member of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute · 2016 - Present Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Institutes and Centers

Recent Publications


An engineered immunogen activates diverse HIV broadly neutralizing antibody precursors and promotes acquisition of improbable mutations.

Journal Article Sci Transl Med · January 8, 2025 Elicitation of HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) by vaccination first requires the activation of diverse precursors, followed by successive boosts that guide these responses to enhanced breadth through the acquisition of somatic mutations. Becaus ... Full text Link to item Cite

In utero human cytomegalovirus infection expands NK-like FcγRIII+CD8+ T cells that mediate Fc antibody functions.

Journal Article J Clin Invest · November 12, 2024 Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) profoundly impacts host T and NK cells across the lifespan, yet how this common congenital infection modulates developing fetal immune cell compartments remains underexplored. Using cord blood from neonates with and without con ... Full text Link to item Cite

Engineering immunogens that select for specific mutations in HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies.

Journal Article Nat Commun · November 3, 2024 Vaccine development targeting rapidly evolving pathogens such as HIV-1 requires induction of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) with conserved paratopes and mutations, and in some cases, the same Ig-heavy chains. The current trial-and-error search for ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Recent Grants


External Quality Assurance Program Oversight Laboratory (EQAPOL)

ResearchInvestigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2031

SOSIP-NP/mRNA combination for novel preventive and therapeutic HIV-1 vaccine regimens

ResearchInvestigator · Awarded by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · 2022 - 2027

CIVICs C Option 16 Equitable Adjustment

ResearchInvestigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2019 - 2026

View All Grants