Polio

Anthony van den Pol of Yale University in the U.S. proposes to engineer a highly immunogenic virus to express replication-restricted poliovirus proteins for use in a new nasal spray polio vaccine. The spray will then be tested for its ability to generate a strong immune response against the virus and refined to increase its shelf life at room temperature.

Linda McAllister and Michael Royals of PharmaJet, Inc. in the U.S. will research the mechanisms that make intradermal vaccine delivery more effective than intramuscular vaccines. Understanding how immunizations via the skin work and why reduced doses are needed in this method can enable more cost effective approaches to polio eradication and other global public health problems.