Clinical Research Directory

Influenza Immunization in Adults Over Age 75

The immune system is the part of the body that protects against infection. The immune system often doesn't work as effectively as people get older. This research is being done to find out how the immune systems in older people who are over age 75 respond to influenza vaccine (flu shot). We also want to find out if chronic cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, a common virus infection in older persons affects the immune response in people older than 75 years of age who receive a flu shot. The Flu Shot is a vaccine approved for the prevention of influenza ("Flu") infections and is recommended every year for all persons 50 years and older. People who are older than 75 years of age are considered healthy or frail may join. A total of 1025 persons will be participating in this study. In order to determine if you are qualified for the study, we would ask you to answer a few questions over the phone that will take approximately 5 minutes. If you qualify and agree to proceed, you will be asked to come to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center or, if you are unable to come to Bayview, one of our staff can visit you at your home. During that visit we obtain consent, review your medical history, and measure your vital signs, walking speed and grip strength. We will also administer a few brief questionnaires and collect urine and blood samples. We will then give you the Influenza vaccine for free. 7 days post receiving your Influenza Vaccine we will collect a small blood sample for further immune system testing. also, you will be asked to complete a 12-question survey which will assess your symptoms over the past 7 days (post receiving the Influenza vaccine). Also 4 weeks post receiving your Influenza vaccine you will be asked to complete a third visit that will include follow up health questionnaires and an influenza symptoms assessment questionnaire and vital signs. A third blood draw will be collected (approximately 10 teaspoons) to measure immune responses to the influenza vaccine. In addition, you will receive your test result (CBC/w/Diff.) from visit #1. Throughout the influenza study season, we will call you once a week to ask about your general health and any Flu-like symptoms. These calls will be made throughout the Flu season which typically lasts through May. If you begin to have any influenza like symptoms at any time during the study, we ask that you call our office to report these symptoms so that we may perform vital signs, nasal swab to confirm influenza, and a fourth blood draw to look at the immune response and protection of influenza vaccine.

GARDASIL 9: 3 Dose vs. 2 Dose With Delayed 3rd Dose

The investigators are evaluating whether 15-26 year old males and females need a 3rd dose of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, or whether 2 doses provide similar protection as 3 doses from the 9 types of HPV that it protects against.

Post-marketing Surveillance Study for the Safety of Efluelda Tetra Pre-filled Syringe.

To investigate the incidence of adverse events (AEs) and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) occurred following administration of Efluelda Tetra in adults aged 65 years or older under routine clinical practice, as per approved indications. The study duration of each participation will be approximately 28 to 35 days. In the event that Visit 2 is not made, the study duration would be extended to 36 to 42 days.

Comparing Immune Response of 2 vs 3 HPV Doses (27-45 Years Old)

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare a 2-dose and 3-dose series of 9vHPV vaccine among 27-45-year-old females to assess if 2 doses elicit a noninferior immune response. Participants will be randomized 1:1 to either the 2-dose group or the 3-dose group and asked to provide 4 blood samples over a period of 12 months. All 2-dose participants will be offered a 3rd dose after the final blood draw,12 months after their initial vaccination.

Description of the Immune Response to Yellow Fever Vaccination

Vaccine protection depends on a specific adaptive immune memory. However, a little-explored aspect of certain live vaccines may provide beneficial, non-specific protection against infections or pathogens other than the one from which the vaccine is derived. This is the concept of innate immune memory or " trained immunity", which differs from adaptive memory in its non-specificity. Innate immune memory is triggered by exposure to immunostimulants, and offers protection against unrelated pathogenic threats for several months or even years. The project aims to carry out an exploratory study to observe, in the context of current practice, the immune response obtained after a subunit and a live attenuated vaccine

Pediatric Vaccinations

As the Covid-19 pandemic hit New York City in the spring of 2020, many families were home-bound due to the city-wide lockdown. As a result, families in New York City were unable to attend their child's healthcare appointments and many young children did not receive their regularly-scheduled vaccinations. Parts of the city-wide lockdown did eventually lift in the summer of 2020 as positive Covid-19 virus rates declined in NYC. However, regularly scheduled vaccination rates (non-Covid-related) remain low. Yet, it is critical that young children receive their mandatory vaccines in a timely manner to decrease the chance of contracting preventable illnesses. Thus, the investigators seek to increase vaccination rates among children ages 0-2 years in Sunset Park Brooklyn.

Adjuvant Effect of Physical Exercise on Immune Response to COVID-19 Vaccination and Interactions With Stress

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the extent to which a single session of light to moderate intensity exercise performed within 30 minutes after receiving either the initial dose of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine may modify the immune response to vaccination, and identify potential underlying mechanisms using gene expression and metabolite analysis. A secondary goal is to establish whether psychosocial factors are associated with immune response to vaccination. Participants will be randomized to either a 90-minute light to moderate intensity exercise session or daily routine as usual (no exercise) after receiving their initial COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. If assigned to exercise, the exercise will begin within 30 minutes after receiving the vaccine and will consist of a brisk walk and/or jog supervised by study personnel. Blood will be collected from participants prior the initial dose, two weeks after the initial dose, one week after the second dose if the individual receive the two-dose vaccine regiment or one month after the initial dose if the individual receives a one-dose vaccine regimen, and three, six, and 12 months following the initial dose. . Side effects will be measured for three days post-vaccination. Antibody and cell-mediated immune response to the vaccine will be measured in blood samples. Gene expression profiles will be analyzed by single cell RNA sequencing. Serum metabolites will be assessed to align with immune measures. Participants will be asked to complete surveys to measure physical activity history, psychosocial stress, resilience, and depression. The hypotheses of this study are: 1) a single session of exercise which take place shortly after receiving either the initial dose or the booster dose of COVID-19 will increase antibody and T cell response to the vaccine and will be associated with differentially expressed genes and an altered metabolite profile, and 2) higher levels of reported stress, and lower levels of resilience will be associated with a reduced antibody and T cell response to the vaccine.