Laboratory of Vaccine Engineering and Immunology

Research Program

Vaccination is one of the greatest and cheapest medical intervention that has saved more lives than any other drugs or therapies. Currently, there are no effective vaccines for diseases like tuberculosis, HIV, malaria, cancer or autoimmune diseases. Hence innovative strategies are required to develop novel and effective vaccines and therapies against such diseases. Immune system plays a vital role in disease protection and therefore drug delivery approaches founded on immunology hold great potential for the development of novel therapeutic and prophylactics against infectious diseases and cancer.

Our current research work towards this goal involves three complementary themes:

(i) nanoparticle-based bioengineering strategies to enhance delivery and efficacy of vaccines and adjuvants

(ii) delivery of nucleic acid-based vaccines and therapies

(iii) non-invasive vaccine and drug delivery through the respiratory mucosa

all focused on creating new therapies based on controlled modulation of the immune system. We investigate topics at the interface of immunology, pharmaceutical engineering, targeted drug delivery, and molecular imaging to address important health problems that are intractable via a unidisciplinary approach. Our ultimate goal is to develop and deliver novel therapeutics and prophylactics for the betterment of human and animal health.

Research Keywords

Immunology, pharmaceutical engineering, vaccines, adjuvants, drug delivery, formulation, mucosal immunity, molecular imaging, RNA medicines, quality-by-design (nanoformulations), particle engineering, pulmonary delivery, animal models, infectious disease.