Page 31 - Rappaport Institute Magazine 2024

IMMUNOLOGY
28-29
Viral Immunity
Viral infection induces diverse immune responses in the host that work coordinately to eliminate the virus and clear the infection. To establish infection, viruses have evolved numerous immune evasion mechanisms that allow them to replicate and spread in the host despite the antiviral immune responses. Understanding the basis of the dynamic interaction between the immune system and viruses is therefore essential for developing novel therapeutic approaches for viral infection. In our lab we aim to shed light on the complex interaction between viruses and the immune system. We use advanced single-genome sequencing techniques and other virological and immunological methods to monitor immune responses to viral infection and to identify the mechanisms used by viruses to escape these antiviral responses.
Selected Publications
ˆ Khaleafi R, Zeleznjak J, Cordela S, Drucker S, Roviš T, Jonjic S, Bar-On Y. Reovirus infection of tumor cells reduces the expression of NKG2D ligands, leading to impaired NK-cell cytotoxicity and functionality. Front. Immunol. 2023 (14) 2023
ˆ Khateeb, D., Gabrieli, T., Sofer, B., Hattar, A., Cordela, S., Chaouat, A., Spivak, I., Lejbkowicz, I., Almog, R., Mandelboim, M. and Bar-On, Y., 2022. SARS-CoV-2 variants with reduced infectivity and varied sensitivity to the BNT162b2 vaccine are developed during the course of infection. PLoS pathogens, 18(1), p.e1010242
ˆ Iancovici L, Khateeb D, Harel O, Peri R, Slobodin G, Hazan Y, Melamed D, Kessel A, Bar-On Y. Rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with Janus kinase inhibitors show reduced humoral immune responses following BNT162b2 vaccination. Rheumatology. 2021 Nov 25
Grants and Awards
2022 – 2024 Michigan-Israel Partnership for Research and Education (MIP), Characterization of the mutable vaccine approach in a model of HIV-1
2022 – 2026 U.S-Israel Binational Science Foundation, A mutable vaccine approach against highly mutatable viruses
2023 – 2025 Ministry of Innovation Science and Technology, Development of antibodies against the HIV-1 latent reservoir
2023 – 2027 ISF-Canada, Enhancement of antiviral T-cell responses for improved control of viral infection
2024 – 2027 Rappaport Institute-Long term grant, A novel ligand for the immune checkpoint LAG-3
ybaron@technion.ac.il
Yotam Bar On Lab
Yotam Bar-On, PhD Assistant Professor of Immunology
PhD, 2015 – The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel