"In Search Of A Universal Flu Vaccine" - Bethany Halford
By all accounts, the 2017-18 flu season has been a bad one. It feels like everyone’s family has been hit, sometimes twice. One challenge with creating a good flu vaccine is forecasting. Experts analyze influenza data from around the world to figure out which strains are most likely to make people sick in the upcoming season. Researchers at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai are making progress with a vaccine candidate that targets hemagglutinin’s stem. Led by Peter Palese, PhD, professor and chair of microbiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Adolfo Garcia-Sastre, PhD, director of global health and emerging pathogens institute and professor of microbiology, medicine and infectious diseases at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Florian Krammer, PhD, associate professor of microbiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The team has developed a virus particle that displays the hemagglutinin stems from H1 with heads from influenza strains that circulate only in birds. “It’s too early to say whether this will work sufficiently well and be long lasting enough to replace seasonal vaccines,” Dr. Palese said.
- Peter Palese, PhD, Professor, Chair, Microbiology, Professor, Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Florian Krammer, PhD, Associate Professor, Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Adolfo Garcia-Sastre, PhD, Director, Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute, Professor, Microbiology, Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
