Provided herein are HIV-1 vaccines comprising a carrier and a population episensus antigen determined using the EpiGraph approach. Also provided are HIV-1 vaccines comprising a carrier, a population episensus antigen, and a tailored antigen. Also provided are methods of designing and producing an HIV-1 vaccine for a subject comprising designing vaccine antigens to optimally cover the diversity within a geographic area using an antigen amino acid sequence generated using the EpiGraph approach, and producing said designed vaccine antigen. Also provided are methods of inducing an effector memory T cell response comprising designing the one or more EpiGraph amino acid sequences, producing a vaccine comprising the one or more EpiGraph amino acid sequences and a vector, and administering the vaccine to a subject. Further provided are methods of treating HIV-1 in a subject comprising administering an effective amount of the described HIV-1 vaccines to the subject in need thereof.

The present invention relates to a vector(s) containing and expressing an optimized HIV EnvF gene, methods for making the same and cell substrates qualified for vaccine production which may comprise vector(s) containing optimized HIV genes.

Provided herein are compositions and methods for treating T cell exhaustion in a subject, by administering a PTD-MYC fusion protein (e.g., an HIV TAT-MYC fusion protein) or immune cells treated with a PTD-MYC fusion protein. Kits for use in practicing the methods are also provided herein.

Disclosed herein are alphavirus vectors that include neoantigen-encoding nucleic acid sequences derived from a tumor of a subject. Also disclosed are nucleotides, cells, and methods associated with the vectors including their use as vaccines.

The invention provides compositions, methods, and kits for the treatment or prevention of viral infections. The polyvalent (e.g., 2-valent) vaccines described herein incorporate computationally-optimized viral polypeptides that can increase the diversity or breadth and depth of cellular immune response in vaccinated subjects.

Poxvirus vectors encoding a synthetic HIV envelope antigen and other HIV antigens, as well as compositions containing such poxvirus vectors and uses of such poxvirus vectors as vaccines to provide improved immunity against HIV, are provided. Also provided are vaccine combinations containing the disclosed poxvirus vectors, adenovirus vectors encoding one or more HIV antigens, and one or more isolated HIV antigenic polypeptides, and methods of using the vaccine combinations to provide improved immunity against HIV.

Methods are described for generating an improved effective immune response against an HIV antigen in humans. The methods comprise administration of a first composition comprising an MVA vector followed by administration of second composition comprising a human adenovirus vector. The methods can be used for the treatment of HIV.

Poxvirus vectors encoding a synthetic HIV envelope antigen and other HIV antigens, as well as compositions containing such poxvirus vectors and uses of such poxvirus vectors as vaccines to provide improved immunity against HIV, are provided. Also provided are vaccine combinations containing the disclosed poxvirus vectors, adenovirus vectors encoding one or more HIV antigens, and one or more isolated HIV antigenic polypeptides, and methods of using the vaccine combinations to provide improved immunity against HIV.

Particular aspects provide for use of the β-herpesvirus Cytomegalovirus (CMV: e.g., RhCMV and HCMV) as a uniquely evolved “vector” for safely initiating and indefinitely maintaining high level cellular and humoral immune responses (against, e.g., HIV, SIV, TB, etc.). Particular aspects provide a method for treatment or prevention of, e.g., HIV, SIV or TB, comprising infection of a subject in need thereof with at least one recombinant CMV-based vector (e.g., HCMV or RhCMV) comprising an expressible HIV/SIV/TB antigen or a variant or fusion protein thereof. In particular embodiments of the method, infection is of an immunocompetent, HCMV or RhCMV seropositive subject. Additional aspects provide for RhCMV- and HCMV-based vaccine vectors, and versions thereof with suicide or safety means. Further aspects provide pharmaceutical compositions comprising the inventive CMV-based vaccine vectors.

Disclosed herein are alphavirus vectors that include neoantigen-encoding nucleic acid sequences derived from a tumor of a subject. Also disclosed are nucleotides, cells, and methods associated with the vectors including their use as vaccines.