IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Center

Developing next-generation HIV vaccine candidates

IAVI’s Neutralizing Antibody Center (NAC) was established in 2002, and today is a leading source of innovation in the study of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) and the design of immunogens to elicit these antibodies through vaccination. The NAC brings together leading investigators — including structural and computational biologists, immunologists, protein chemists, and glycobiologists — from institutions worldwide.

Addressing the complexities of HIV vaccine design

During the past decade, through the efforts of the NAC and many other leading scientific collaborators, more than 200 HIV-specific bnAbs have been isolated from volunteers around the world. The structures of some of the most potent of these antibodies and their targets have also been described. These discoveries are now guiding the design of novel HIV vaccine candidates designed to induce bnAbs. Some of these antibodies are also being developed as potential HIV prevention products. Additionally, IAVI and partners are applying antibody discovery and development technologies to other health threats including coronaviruses and antimicrobial resistance.

The NAC is headquartered at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California.

The NAC’s principal investigators

  • Dennis Burton, scientific director, NAC; professor and chair of the Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Scripps Research
  • Max Crispin, professor of glycobiology, University of Southampton
  • Bill Schief, executive director, vaccine design, NAC; professor, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Scripps Research
  • Devin Sok, vice president, antibody discovery and development, IAVI
  • Andrew Ward, professor, Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, Scripps Research
  • Ian Wilson, Hansen professor of structural biology and chairman, Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, Scripps Research
  • Rich Wyatt, senior director, viral immunology, NAC; professor, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Scripps Research

Read selected publications by NAC investigators and their collaborators

Nature or nurture: Factors that influence bnAb development, Cell Host Microbe. 2021 Apr 14; 29(4):540-542. (Open access)

Structural and functional ramifications of antigenic drift in recent SARS-CoV-2 variants, Science. 2021 Aug 13; 373(6556):818-823. (Open access)

Isolation of potent SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies and protection from disease in a small animal model, Science. 2020 Aug 21; 369(6506): 956–963. (Open access)

Broad neutralization of SARS-related viruses by human monoclonal antibodies, Science. 2020 Aug 7; 369(6504): 731–736. (Open access)

Structural basis of a shared antibody response to SARS-CoV-2, Science 13 Jul 2020:eabd2321; DOI:10.1126/science.abd2321. 2020. (Open access)

Route of Vaccine Administration Alters Antigen Trafficking but Not Innate or Adaptive Immunity, Cell Rep 30(12): 3964-3971 e3967. 2020. (Open access)

Rapid isolation of potent SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies and protection in a small animal model, bioRxiv: 2020.2005.2011.088674. 2020. (Open access)

Structural basis of broad HIV neutralization by a vaccine-induced cow antibody, Sci Adv 6(22): eaba0468. 2020. (Open access)

Structural basis of a public antibody response to SARS-CoV-2, bioRxiv: 2020 Jun 9;2020.06.08.141267. doi: 10.1101/2020.06.08.141267. 2020. (Open access)

Comparisons of the antibody repertoires of a humanized rodent and humans by high throughput sequencing, Sci Rep 10(1): 1120. 2020. (Open access)

Vaccination with Glycan-Modified HIV NFL Envelope Trimer-Liposomes Elicits Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies to Multiple Sites of Vulnerability, Immunity. 51(5):915-929. 2019. (Subscription required)

A generalized HIV vaccine design strategy for priming of broadly neutralizing antibody responses, Science. 366(6470), eaax4380. 2019. (Open access)

Rapid and Focused Maturation of a VRC01-Class HIV Broadly Neutralizing Antibody Lineage Involves Both Binding and Accommodation of the N276-Glycan, Immunity. 51(1):141-154.e6. 2019. (Open access)

Structure and immunogenicity of a stabilized HIV-1 envelope trimer based on a group-M consensus sequence, Nature Communications. 10(1):2355. 2019. (Open access)

The Chimpanzee SIV Envelope Trimer: Structure and Deployment as an HIV Vaccine Template, Cell Reports. 27(8):2426-2441.e6. 2019. (Open access)

Antigen-Specific Single B Cell Sorting and Monoclonal Antibody Cloning in Guinea Pigs, Frontiers in Microbiology. 10(672). 2019. (Open access)

The HIV-1 Envelope Glycoprotein C3/V4 Region Defines a Prevalent Neutralization Epitope following Immunization, Cell Reports. 27(2): 586-598 e586. 2019. (Open access)

Developability Assessment of Physicochemical Properties and Stability Profiles of HIV-1 BG505 SOSIP.664 and BG505 SOSIP.v4.1-GT1.1 gp140 Envelope Glycoprotein Trimers as Candidate Vaccine Antigens, Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. 108(7):2264-2277. 2019. (Open access)

Innate immune recognition of glycans targets HIV nanoparticle immunogens to germinal centers, Science. 363(6427):649-654. 2019. (Open access)

Vaccine-Induced Protection from Homologous Tier 2 SHIV Challenge in Nonhuman Primates Depends on Serum-Neutralizing Antibody Titers, Immunity. 15;50(1):241-252.e6. 2018. (Open access)

HIV-1 vaccine design through minimizing envelope metastability. Science Advances. 4(11): eaau6769. 2018. (Open access)

Enhancing Humoral Responses Against HIV Envelope Trimers via Nanoparticle Delivery with Stabilized Synthetic Liposomes. Scientific Reports. 8(1): 16527. 2018. (Open access)

Recent progress in broadly neutralizing antibodies to HIV. Nature Immunology. 19(11): 1179-1188. 2018. (Open access)