Florian Klein and Michael Lässig, together with their collaborators Michael Desai (Harvard) and Aleksandra Walckzak (ENS Paris), were awarded a Synergy Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). Synergy Grants provide funding of approximately 10 million euros over a period of six years to excellent researchers working together as a team on a project. The aim of the funded project CoEvolve is to gain a better understanding of the immune response against viruses and to use this knowledge to develop new vaccines and antibody therapies.

About CoEvolve:

Vertebrates, including humans, protect themselves against pathogens through a highly developed immune system. The CoEvolve research project investigates the co-evolution — i.e., the mutual adaptation — of viruses and the immune system. The aim of the project is to predict how pathogens evolve in the future and how the immune defenses can be optimally adapted to this process.

The focus is on flu viruses (influenza) and SARS-CoV-2, both of which cause severe respiratory diseases and change particularly quickly. While influenza has been with humans for decades, SARS-CoV-2 has only recently become part of this evolutionary interplay.

The international research team is investigating co-evolution on several levels: in laboratory experiments, in long-term studies with humans, and by surveillance data from viruses circulating worldwide. New molecular assays and biophysical models will be developed to better understand the interactions between the virus and the immune system. On this basis, CoEvolve will track the joint evolution of viruses and immunity, develop models for predicting future virus variants, and provide strategies for better vaccines and preventive measures.

University of Cologne Press Release