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Kevin O'Neil Saunders

Norman L. Letvin M. D. Distinguished Professor in Surgery and the Duke Human Vaccine Institute
Surgery, Surgical Sciences
Box 3020 Med Ctr, Durham, NC 27710
2 Genome Court, 4074 Medical Science Research Building 2, Durham, NC 27710

Research Interests


  • Antibody responses to HIV-1
  • HIV-1 Vaccinology
  • Complement-mediated antigen trafficking
  • Glycobiology of HIV-1 protein
  • Antibody recognition of glycans
  • Antibody engineering
  • Gene transfer as active and passive vaccination modalities
  • Coronavirus antibody development
  • Pan-coronavirus vaccine development
  • Antibody affinity maturation

Selected Grants


Advanced Immunobiology Traning Program for Surgeons

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2019 - 2029

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

Conjugate nanoparticle platform development for HIV-1 envelope immunogens

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2021 - 2026

Neutralizing antibody vaccine for pandemic and pre-emergent coronaviruses - Base

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2022 - 2026

Protein Production Facility

ResearchInvestigator · Awarded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation · 2022 - 2026

Neutralizing antibody vaccine for pandemic and pre-emergent coronaviruses - Option 2

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2023 - 2026

Collaboratory of AIDS Researchers for Eradication (CARE)

ResearchInvestigator · Awarded by University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill · 2021 - 2026

SHIV/HIV Env-antibody coevolution as a molecular guide to V3 glycan targeted vaccine design

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by University of Pennsylvania · 2022 - 2026

PTVDS Task Area C - Feasibility of a Liposome/LNP Base

ResearchInvestigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2026

Interdisciplinary Research Training Program in AIDS

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2010 - 2025

HIV-1 vaccine-elicited antibodies target envelope glycans

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · 2015 - 2025

Basic Immunology Training Program

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2020 - 2025

Neutralizing antibody vaccine for pandemic and pre-emergent coronaviruses - Option 1

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2022 - 2025

Viral Oncology Training Grant

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 1980 - 2025

A novel vaccine against multidrug-resistant gonorrhea

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by University of Massachusetts Medical School · 2024 - 2024

Neutralizing antibody vaccine for pandemic and pre-emergent coronaviruses - Option 5

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2023 - 2024

CIVICs B - Opt 27B

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2023 - 2024

Duke DARPA Pandemic Prevention Platform (P3)

ResearchInvestigator · Awarded by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency · 2017 - 2024

Neutralizing antibody vaccine for pandemic and pre-emergent coronaviruses - Option 4

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2023 - 2024

CIVICs B Option 23

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2022 - 2024

CIVICs B Option 39 Cost to Complete

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2022 - 2024

CIVICs B Option 39

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2022 - 2024

Targeting the HIV-1 reservoir with a combination of an IDLV-SIVGag therapeutic vaccine and Fc-engineered bnAbs (R01)

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2020 - 2023

Immunogen Design of HIV Sequential Envelopes Derived from SHIV-infected Macaques

ResearchInvestigator · Awarded by University of Pennsylvania · 2017 - 2023

Dissection of polyreactivity and neutralization activity of HIV-1 Abs (R01)

ResearchInvestigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2016 - 2023

Protein Production Facility

ResearchInvestigator · Awarded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation · 2016 - 2022

Neutralizing and non-neutralizing antibody effector functions in HIV infected children

ResearchInvestigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2019 - 2022

CARE Focus 2: Clearance of HIV Antigen-Positive Cells

ResearchInvestigator · Awarded by University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill · 2016 - 2022

Coronavirus Vaccine Design

ResearchInvestigator · Awarded by State of North Carolina · 2020 - 2021

Novel vaccine strategies to induce V2 apex-directed broad neutralizing antibodies

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by San Diego Biomedical Research Institute · 2019 - 2021

Defining parameters to induce breadth in knockin mice expressing HIV bnAb precursors

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by San Diego Biomedical Research Institute · 2019 - 2020

Defining parameters to induce breadth in knockin mice expressing HIV bnAb precursors

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2010 - 2018

Elucidation of the Mechanisms of CD8+ T Cell Noncytolytic Antiviral Response

FellowshipPredoctoral Trainee · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2009 - 2010

External Relationships


  • Pennsylvania Department of Health
  • University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

This faculty member (or a member of their immediate family) has reported outside activities with the companies, institutions, or organizations listed above. This information is available to institutional leadership and, when appropriate, management plans are in place to address potential conflicts of interest.