Hertz Lab
Systems Immunology
HLA binding prediction
Many important cellular response mechanisms are activated when a peptide binds to an appropriate receptor. In the immune system, the recognition of pathogen peptides begins when they bind to cell membrane Major Histocompatibility Complexes (also known as HLA - Human Leukocyte Antigen). HLA proteins then carry these peptides to the cell surface in order to allow the activation of cytotoxic T-cells. The HLA binding cleft is highly polymorphic and therefore protein-peptide binding is highly specific. Developing computational methods for predicting protein-peptide binding is important for vaccine design and treatment of diseases like cancer.
Our lab focuses on applications of HLA binding predictors in the following domains:
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Vaccine analysis and design
