Objective
Live vaccines represent one of the most important and effective interventions against the spread of viral disease. As such, they are instrumental in addressing ongoing societal challenges in areas such as healthcare and global food security. However, their capacity to genetically recombine with wild type (WT) viruses circulating in the field remains a primary safety concern. Modifying live vaccine strains to reduce such occurrences would be highly desirable from a safety perspective. Also efforts to enhance the intrinsic potency of vaccine strains would be very beneficial. This would facilitate the use of much lower doses, while reducing the manufacturing resources required to meet market needs and the cost of vaccination programs.
With this in mind, this project will explore a novel strategy to improve both the safety and efficacy of live viral vaccine strains by modifying them to express small-hairpin-RNAs (shRNAs), which can be designed to:
i) Exclusively inhibit WT virus replication/propagation via RNA-interference (RNAi), thus reducing the levels of WT available for recombination with vaccine strains during vaccination i.e. improving safety
ii) Increase live vaccine strain stimulation of the innate immune system by functioning as potent inducers of Type-1 Interferon (IFN-I) expression during vaccination i.e. enhancing efficacy
This novel strategy will be explored by modifying an existing attenuated Cyprinid herpesvirus-3 vaccine strain to express appropriately designed shRNAs, followed by an assessment of their impact on both WT virus replication and IFN-I expression in-vitro, providing a basis for future progression to in-vivo trials.
Ultimately, if feasible, this novel vaccine design strategy may be applied in the control of many economically important viruses. Also elements of this project are in harmony with the “Strategic European Roadmap for the Vaccines of Tomorrow” launched in 2016 to outline specific EU priorities in future vaccine innovation.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology virology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs vaccines
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition
You need to log in or register to use this function
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme -
H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF-EF-CAR - CAR – Career Restart panel
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2016
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
4000 LIEGE
Belgium
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.