THE SCIENCE FACULTY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN INVITES YOU TO THE 2025 SEMINAR SERIES

This seminar series is organised by the Science Faculty Research Committee.
Everyone interested is welcome to attend.

Speaker
Prof. Michelle Kuttel
Department of Computer Science
&
Emer. Prof. Neil Ravenscroft
Department of Chemistry

Title
Using Molecular Modelling to Rationalise Cross-Reactivity in the Development of Multivalent Vaccines.

Abstract
The increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance underscores the importance of vaccination as a primary strategy for preventing bacterial infections. Licensed conjugate vaccines have proven effective against Haemophilus influenzae type b, Neisseria meningitidis, and Streptococcus pneumoniae. However, the diversity of bacterial strains necessitates the development of costly multivalent vaccines, unless cross-protective immune responses can be elicited against non-vaccine serotypes or serogroups. Predicting such cross-protection remains challenging, as structural similarity between carbohydrate antigens has not proven to be a reliable predictor of immunological cross-reactivity.
Through an extended collaboration, we have demonstrated that molecular modelling of bacterial carbohydrate antigens can elucidate the mechanistic basis of cross-reactivity, thereby informing conjugate vaccine design and advancing the understanding of carbohydrate immunogenicity. We present case studies on the molecular modelling of capsular polysaccharides from clinically significant bacterial species. These analyses reveal key conformational features and antigenic epitopes that may support the rational design of improved vaccines.

Speaker Biography
Prof. Michelle Kuttel
Michelle Kuttel is a Professor and Head of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Cape Town. She holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from UCT and works at the interface of chemistry and computer science, specialising in computational glycochemistry. Her research uses molecular modelling to predict the conformations and interactions of microbial surface carbohydrates, to inform the rational design of novel antimicrobial vaccines.
Her expertise also extends to scientific visualization and software development of tools to support this work, including the CarbBuilder software for constructing complex carbohydrate models and the SugarDB repository of bacterial carbohydrate structures.

Emer. Prof. Neil Ravenscroft
Neil Ravenscroft is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cape Town. He is a carbohydrate chemist who obtained his PhD from UCT for structural studies on Klebsiella bacteria. After postdoctoral studies on the structure of bacterial antigens in Canada and Germany, he worked in R & D of vaccines for five years at Chiron (now GSK) Vaccines (Italy). He returned to UCT in 2000 and continues to apply NMR spectroscopy to characterize new serotypes and assist with the development of carbohydrate-based vaccines with local and international partners. Since 2004 he has been a consultant on PATH’s meningococcal and pneumococcal vaccine projects. He has worked with the World Health Organization and the US Pharmacopeia Expert Panel on developing guidance for conjugate vaccines.