{"id":114143,"date":"2020-03-23T08:37:14","date_gmt":"2020-03-23T18:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=114143"},"modified":"2020-03-30T15:48:23","modified_gmt":"2020-03-31T01:48:23","slug":"jabsom-scientist-covid-vaccine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2020\/03\/23\/jabsom-scientist-covid-vaccine\/","title":{"rendered":"<abbr title=\"University of Hawaii\">UH<\/abbr> researcher\u2019s team helps develop vaccine for <abbr title=\"coronavirus\">COVID-19<\/abbr>"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 2<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><div class=\"responsive-video-wrap-post\"><figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe  id=\"_ytid_19962\"  width=\"676\" height=\"676\"  data-origwidth=\"676\" data-origheight=\"676\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fZgXu86kPww?enablejsapi=1&origin=https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu&rel=0&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&disablekb=0&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"Â鶹´«Ã½researcher\u2019s team helps create vaccine for COVID-19\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n<p>As confirmed <abbr title=\"coronavirus 2019\">COVID-19<\/abbr> cases continue to rise, the need for a vaccine to prevent the spread of the flu-like virus grows. University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa scientist <strong>Axel Lehrer<\/strong> is among those helping in that global fight. He is working in collaboration with New Jersey-based biopharmaceutical company <a href=\"https:\/\/www.soligenix.com\/\">Soligenix, Inc.<\/a> to develop potential coronavirus vaccines, including one for the novel <abbr>COVID-19<\/abbr> disease. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Our platform has a good chance because the vaccine we\u2019re producing is something that\u2019s thermostable, can be produced in mass quantities and can be shipped everywhere without the need for refrigeration,&rdquo; said Lehrer, an assistant professor at the <a href=\"http:\/\/jabsom.hawaii.edu\">John A. Burns School of Medicine<\/a>. &ldquo;That\u2019s a huge benefit in an outbreak scenario where you need to be able to quickly ship vaccines around the world.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_114157\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-114157\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/manoa-jabsom-lehrer-lab-1-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"axel lehrer in the lab\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-114157\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/manoa-jabsom-lehrer-lab-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/manoa-jabsom-lehrer-lab-1-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/manoa-jabsom-lehrer-lab-1-630x353.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/manoa-jabsom-lehrer-lab-1.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-114157\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Axel Lehrer in his lab at the John A. Burns School of Medicine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Lehrer and his team of about a dozen lab colleagues in the <a href=\"http:\/\/manoa.hawaii.edu\/tropicalmedicine\/\">Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology<\/a> have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2019\/02\/22\/uh-ebola-vaccine-withstands-high-heat\/\">previously demonstrated the feasibility of developing an Ebola virus vaccine<\/a>. Using the same technology platform, they are hopeful their development for a <abbr>COVID-19<\/abbr> vaccine will also prove to be successful. <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2020\/03\/23\/uh-foundation-covid-19-campaigns\/\">Support <abbr>UH<\/abbr> COVID-19 research<\/a> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In contrast to other coronavirus vaccines that use an <abbr title=\"ribonucleic acid,\">RNA<\/abbr>-based approach that is quicker to test in humans, the recombinant subunit vaccine Lehrer is developing takes a more conventional approach used for many proven vaccines currently on the market. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We\u2019re making antigen, the protein that will make you resistant to the virus. We make those antigens that will give a solid immune response. Our product will take between six to nine  months to be ready for clinical trials, but the immune response you develop is much more potent (in comparison to <abbr>RNA<\/abbr>-based vaccines),&rdquo; said Lehrer.<\/p>\n<p>Lehrer believes the recombinant subunit vaccine is the right approach for <abbr>COVID-19<\/abbr>. &ldquo;It can be used in any person, in immunocompromised people, in the elderly and in small children. The safety margin is very good and that\u2019s why we believe it could be a major contribution to the field,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It is rewarding to see ongoing work by <abbr>JABSOM<\/abbr> investigators and collaborators expanding on successful research on filovirus vaccines (protecting against viruses such as Ebola and Marburg virus) that may help us make unique life-saving contributions during this difficult time in healthcare,&rdquo; said <abbr>JABSOM<\/abbr> Dean <strong>Jerris Hedges<\/strong>. &ldquo;The prospect of a science lab in <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> helping develop a vaccine amid the <abbr>COVID-19<\/abbr> pandemic is a testament to the importance of local research in <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The next stage in the development process for the vaccine is to conduct test trials in small animals, which will commence in the next few weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Along with Soligenix, Lehrer and his team are also working with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hibiotech.com\/\">Hawaii Biotech Inc.<\/a>, a <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>-based subunit vaccine developer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Axel Lehrer and his lab colleagues are collaborating on developing a potential vaccine for the novel <abbr title=\"coronavirus\">COVID-19<\/abbr> disease. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,12],"tags":[1411,1417,1227,31,1363,506,429,9,56],"class_list":["post-114143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","category-video","tag-covid-19","tag-covid-19-research","tag-ebola","tag-john-a-burns-school-of-medicine","tag-manoa-research","tag-medical-microbiology-and-pharmacology","tag-tropical-medicine-and-medical-microbiology","tag-uh-manoa","tag-video-2","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114143"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114143\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114663,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114143\/revisions\/114663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}