The Immunology Podcast

Ep. 118: “Memory B Cell Responses” Featuring Dr. Camila Coelho

Nov 4, 2025
Dr. Camila Coelho, a Principal Investigator at the Icahn School of Medicine, dives into her lab's work on emerging pathogens like mpox. She discusses the complexities of orthopox vaccines, including the safety versus efficacy trade-offs of various smallpox vaccines. Camila shares insights on antibody discovery, emphasizing the evolution of methods to map neutralizing epitopes. Moreover, she highlights her commitment to mentorship in science and how her MBA helps enhance her lab leadership and team dynamics.
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INSIGHT

Waning Orthopox Immunity Increases Risk

  • Immunity to orthopoxviruses is waning because smallpox vaccination ended decades ago.
  • New and antigenically distinct orthopoxviruses therefore pose increasing public-health risk.
INSIGHT

Attenuation Lowers Vaccine Immunogenicity

  • The current Jynneos vaccine is less immunogenic because its virus was heavily passaged and attenuated.
  • That attenuation reduces side effects but also lowers cross-protective antibody responses.
INSIGHT

mRNA Faces Bigger Challenges For Orthopox

  • mRNA orthopox vaccines are promising but face more uncertainty than SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.
  • Orthopoxviruses have ~200 proteins so antigen selection and long-term durability remain open questions.
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