Translational Research Forum

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The Translational Research Forum highlights translational research, with a focus on collaborative research between basic and clinical scientists. The goal is to produce meaningful and applicable results that directly benefit human health.

The forum brings attention to ongoing translational research studies at Albany Medical College that have the potential to impact patients. It also opens the lines of communication between clinicians and scientists to start new collaborations.

Note: This forum has been rescheduled from Aug. 7, 2025.

Michael Robek, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Immunology and Microbial Disease, will present, "Immunotherapeutic Approaches for Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection."

Despite the availability of a protective vaccine, an estimated 250 million people worldwide are chronically infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV), and approximately one million people die each year from chronic liver diseases such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma that result from this infection.

Because current therapies for chronic HBV control but rarely cure the infection, there is a critical need for new approaches to treating this disease. A strong immune response is generated to HBV in adults who become acutely infected and clear the virus. In contrast, in newborns and young children who typically become chronically infected, the immune response is much weaker. Because it can eliminate the virus but often fails, the human immune system is an attractive target for therapeutic manipulation.

Immunotherapies, including therapeutic vaccination, are promising new tactics for curing chronic HBV infection. We are developing new immunotherapeutic approaches for chronic HBV, which have the potential to impact public health by expanding the repertoire of therapies beyond those currently employed.