Signe Tandrup Schmidt

Research areas

In my research I focus on formulation and characterization of lipid-based vaccine adjuvants. The adjuvants are added to vaccines and used to determine which type of immune response is induced against the vaccine. My work includes:

• Formulation of adjuvants by using different methods; rehydration of dried lipid films, high-pressure homogenization and microfluidics
• Physical characterization; e.g. the particle size and electrical charge greatly affect how the adjuvants distribute in the body and affect immune cells
• Addition of immunomodulators; these are different compounds, each of which causes the immune system to react in a certain way
• Specific focus on adjuvants that induce cytotoxic T cells. These cells are also called killer T cells and kill diseased cells in the body, e.g. cancer cells and virus-infected cells

Responsibilities

• Formulation of novel lipid-based vaccine adjuvants

Selected publications

• Schmidt ST, Olsen CL, Franzyk H, Wørzner K, Korsholm KS, Rades T, Andersen P, Foged C, Christensen D. 2019. Comparison of two different PEGylation strategies for the liposomal adjuvant CAF09: Towards induction of CTL responses upon subcutaneous vaccine administration. Eur J Pharm Biopharm 140:29-39.
• Schmidt ST, Pedersen GK, Neustrup MA, Korsholm KS, Rades T, Andersen P, Foged C, Christensen D. 2018. Induction of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte responses upon subcutaneous administration of a subunit vaccine adjuvanted with an emulsion containing the Toll-like receptor 3 ligand Poly(I:C). Front Immunol 30;9:898
• Schmidt ST, Neustrup MA, Harloff-Helleberg S, Korsholm KS, Rades T, Andersen P, Christensen D, Foged C. 2017. Systematic investigation of the role of surfactant composition and choice of oil: Design of a nanoemulsion-based adjuvant inducing concomitant humoral and CD4+ T-cell responses. Pharm Res 34(8):1716-1727
• Schmidt ST, Khadke S, Korsholm KS, Perrie Y, Rades T, Andersen P, Foged C, Christensen D. 2016. The administration route is decisive for the ability of the vaccine adjuvant CAF09 to induce antigen-specific CD8(+) T-cell responses: The immunological consequences of the biodistribution profile. J Control Release 10;239:107-17
• Ingvarsson PT, Schmidt ST, Christensen D, Larsen NB, Hinrichs WL, Andersen P, Rantanen J, Nielsen HM, Yang M, Foged C. 2013. Designing CAF-adjuvanted dry powder vaccines: spray drying preserves the adjuvant activity of CAF01. J Control Release 10;167(3):256-64