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CIRC Symposium Series

January 16, 2015
CSB 209

The Center for Integrated Research Computing (CIRC) will host its next symposium on Friday, January 16th from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Computer Studies Building (CSB) 209 on the River Campus.

Digital History and Archaeology: Building a Virtual St. George's, 1609-1900

Michael J. Jarvis, Ph.D.

Department of History

My research aims to create an interactive educational model of St. George's, Bermuda - a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the oldest living town in British America. Drawing on two decades of historical and archaeological research, I am leading a team of UR students to digitally reconstruct the town in the key target years of 1625, 1675, 1725, 1775, 1815 and the present that will enable modern users to time travel - walking the streets and meeting town residents of the past. My talk will discuss the technologies used in the project and the design and research challenges in building historical simulations.

On-Going Research Talk: Simulation Explains the Effect of Preexisting Memory on Variable Immune Responses to 2009 pH1N1 Influenza Vaccination

Christopher S. Anderson

Department of Microbiology and Immunology

Although it is generally assumed older individuals respond poorly to vaccination, the pandemic 2009 H1N1 vaccine demonstrated that this is not always true. Interestingly, there is considerable antigenic likeness between the pandemic 2009 H1N1 virus and the H1N1 viruses that circulated between 1918-1957. During the 2009 H1N1 pandemic the majority of individuals vaccinated with 2009 H1N1 mounted an immune response to the conserved stalk region of the influenza hemagglutinin. Older individuals alive during 1918-1957, however, mounted a response primarily to the variable head region of hemagglutinin. Memory B cells seem to play the dominant role in both of these responses. A proposed explanation for this difference is that older individuals were exposed to 1918-like viruses and contained preexisting memory B cells capable of cross-reacting with the 2009 H1N1 head epitopes. To test this hypothesis, we have developed a coursegrain theoretical model of the human humoral response. By simulating the variant influenza strains each age group would be exposed to over their lifetime, we can directly test the effect of exposure to 1918-like viruses on the response to pandemic 2009 H1N1. Understanding how differences in exposure history influence the B cell memory repertoire is crucial to predicting how individuals will respond to the future influenza vaccines.

Pizza and soda will be served during the event.

Category: Talks