Research Focus
Dr. Ippolito is a B-cell immunologist by training who has more than 20 years of experience studying non-human and human antibody structure, function, and repertoire diversity. In his current research, he uses molecular and proteomic techniques for the comprehensive profiling of human antibody-mediated immunity applied to the analysis of vaccine responses, autoimmunity, and infectious diseases like malaria, dengue, influenza, and SARS-CoV-2.
In his laboratory, two key technologies, BCR-Seq and Ig-Seq, are used in concert to gather antibody response data that is then subjected to bioinformatic analysis:
- BCR-Seq: Short for “B-cell repertoire sequencing,” this technology allows for analysis of a patient’s immune response at the single-cell level by analyzing the antibody information presented on the surface of the many thousands of individual B-cells produced in response to vaccination or infection.
- Ig-Seq: Short for “Immunoglobulin sequencing,” this second technology is a proteomic/informatics strategy that, when combined with BCR-Seq data, enables determination of molecular-level identification and functionality of the most prevalent immune response antibody proteins (immunoglobulins) in blood plasma or other fluids.
In addition to 70+ research publications and one successful FDA IND application, he is an inventor on U.S. patent filings (two provisional, one issued) for antibody discovery.