December 18, 2024
About the VC2
The Victorian Critical Vaccinees Collection (VC2) is an open biobank of samples and limited clinical data from individuals who have received any new critical vaccine addressing infections in a pandemic or public health emergency. The biobank currently includes individuals who received COVID-19 and/or mpox vaccinations.
Participants have been recruited from major vaccination centres around Melbourne as well as directly from the public, and have had plasma, serum, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), granulocytes and (in some cases) saliva taken before and after vaccination with follow-up continuing for 2 years. In addition to these samples, we have also neutralizing antibody data against wild-type, BA4/5 and Delta strains available at baseline and up to 12 months of follow-up for 169 Individuals In the cohort.
Further details on the project can be found on the study website.
Recruitment is ongoing, with the VC2 biobank currently holding over 24,000 stored samples.
As of Nov 20, 2024, 248 participants have been recruited and samples have been collected.
Of these, 141 participants have finished their 24 month follow-up, and another 28 participants have had up to their 12 month sample collected.
About the VC2 Research Seed Funding Grants
This seed funding scheme is to help support novel and impactful projects utilising stored samples from the VC2 biobank.
Funding amount available: 4 awards of up to $50,000 each
Funding period: 12 months from date of award
Eligibility: Applications are open to any Victorian based researcher.
Application guidelines
Applicants will need to complete a maximum 2-page proposal detailing the following:
- Study title
- Principal Investigator details
- Associate Investigators
- The institution at which the analysis will take place
- Lay summary of the project (200 words max)
- Research Proposal (including Background, Aims/Hypothesis. Research Design, Outcomes and Significance)
- Brief Budget
- Samples required (number and type)
The principal investigator should also include a brief two-page curriculum vitae.
Applications must be submitted to vc2-biobank@unimelb.edu.au by 5pm AEST on Friday, 21 February 2025.
For enquiries, please contact Judy Chang (judy.chang@unimelb.edu.au)
Applications will be reviewed by the VC2 Scientific Review Committee, with the final selection of recipients made by the VC2 Executive.
Review criteria will include:
- Quality, novelty, and likely impact of the proposed research
- Feasibility with existing samples – please email Judy Chang (judy.chang@unimelb.edu.au) to check if the biobank has samples matching to your needs
- Track record of the study team (including prioritisation of applications from early/middlecareer researchers)