Dr. Qizhi Cathy Yao, professor of surgery, molecular virology and microbiology, and pathology & immunology at Baylor College of Medicine, has been awarded a National Institutes of Health grant to fund a collaborative project with Molecular Express, Inc. The project is based on their virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine strategy.
Virus-like particles have the unique property of inducing strong immune responses but they lack the infectious capacities of the original virus. In preclinical studies, VLPs formed by structural proteins are highly immunogenic. When VLPs are conjugated with VesiVax® formulations containing toll-like receptor agonists, strong humoral and cellular immune responses against various diseases can be generated.
