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Pandemic Preparedness Capabilities

Säbo: protection and vulnerabilities to infection


PI(s)/Head responsible for the resource:

Mattias Forsell

Host organisation(s):

Umeå University

Resource description:

We have established a robust, scalable platform for longitudinal biomonitoring of serological responses, infections, comorbidities, and mortality among more than 3,500 elderly individuals at Swedish Nursing Homes (SNHs). This PLP platform demonstrated national impact during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing real-time data that informed vaccine strategies via the Public Health Agency of Sweden (PHAS).

Rationale and Novelty: Cognitive decline, neuroinflammation, and neurodegeneration are increasingly recognised as factors influencing infection susceptibility in older adults. While our platform effectively tracks immune protection, a key opportunity lies in identifying biological predictors of infection vulnerability, particularly those linked to neurological health. Current risk assessments rely on generalised comorbidity indices, which lack biological specificity. We propose identifying neurological biomarkers that predict infection vulnerability or poor vaccine responses with greater precision. In addition, results gained within this project may significantly move research on age-dependent frailty forward.

Technological Development: We will expand our analytical capabilities to enable high- throughput biomarker profiling using dried blood spot (DBS) samples from SNH residents. Central to this is the implementation of NULISATM, an ultra-sensitive immunoassay platform established at SciLife for detecting low-abundance proteins with high specificity and multiplexing capacity.

Candidate Biomarkers: As a first proof-of-concept, we will focus on the NULISAseqTM CNS Disease Panel 120, enabling simultaneous detection of neurodegenerative and inflammatory markers.

Impact and Dissemination: This project will generate novel insights into the link between neurological health and infection vulnerability in the elderly. While infections by pathogen X may require different biomarkers to be assessed, our proposal will provide proof-of-concept and experience for quick adaptation to meet the needs during future pandemics.

Contact information:

Mattias Forsell
Umeå University
Email: mattias.forsell@umu.se