Cloning and expression of engineered protein antigens for inclusion in novel vaccine formulations

While traditional whole microorganism vaccine approaches have proven to be highly effective for preventing disease, many important infectious organisms remain without effective commercial vaccines. The identification of individual proteins, capable of eliciting broadly protective immune responses, offers a potential means to formulate safe and effective vaccines against such organisms.

Expected outcomes and deliverables: 

This project will provide students with the opportunity to learn basic molecular biology processes involved in the engineering, cloning and expression of protein vaccine antigens in Escherichia coli.

The project may involve learning peptide synthesis techniques, as well as the purification and characterization of compounds by SDS-PAGE, HPLC, and mass spectrometry.

This project is open to applications from students with a background or interest in biotechnology. Undergraduate students with a basic science background are preferred.