Scripps Research scientists receive up to $12M to create universal vaccine for alphaviruses Funding from ARPA-H will be used to develop a vaccine for alphaviruses in preparation of major outbreaks in the U.S.
December 04, 2024
LA JOLLA, CA Alphaviruses often cause a range of illnesses that lead to fever, rash and debilitating joint pain. While they're historically prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions of the world where virus-transmitting mosquitos are abundant, these mosquitos are expanding to new terrain including the U.S. as global warming intensifies. Alphavirus diseases like eastern equine encephalitis, which inflames the brain and can lead to death, are among the country's emerging threats against which no human vaccine is available.
Despite various efforts in the works to develop vaccines for specific alphaviruses, there's currently no universal vaccine to broadly target a range of virus strains. That means as alphaviruses become more widespread, people will need several jabs rather than one assuming specific vaccines become available.
Now, a collaboration among Scripps Research, Vanderbilt University and others has been awarded more than $46 million from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), a research funding agency of the U.S. government, to develop a universal vaccine against alphaviruses. Scripps Research will receive up to $12 million for its contribution to the project, which is expected to last five years.
The principal investigators at Scripps Research include Torben Schiffner, PhD, who leads immunogen design at the institute; Darrell Irvine, PhD, a professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology; Andrew Ward, PhD, a professor in the Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology; and Ian Wilson, PhD, who chairs the Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology and is the Hansen Professor of Structural Biology.
This award combines experts in artificial intelligence (AI) with vaccinologists to accomplish a great deal over a short time span, says Schiffner, who is the lead principal investigator on the award at Scripps Research. We're going to hear a lot more about alphaviruses in the future, and there already have been minor outbreaks in the U.S.
The money from ARPA-H will fund a two-stage project: After a three-year preclinical stage to create an immunogen candidate, the molecule will enter a phase 1 clinical trial for two years if it performs well preclinically. An immunogen is a substance that activates the immune system, helping the body recognize and fight harmful agents like viruses. This is a primary step in vaccine development, as scientists design an immunogen to mimic parts of a virus that way, when the resulting vaccine is administered, the body can learn how to defend itself even if it has never been exposed to the actual virus.
The principal investigators at Scripps Research plan to synergize their deep-seated knowledge in vaccinology with AI-expertise at other institutes, chiefly Vanderbilt University. Collaborators at Vanderbilt University Medical Center will isolate alphavirus antibodies from people who have survived alphavirus-related infections, particularly those that protect against different alphaviruses. The team at Scripps Research will use these antibodies to guide vaccine design. Initially, they will determine the structure of antibodies and how they bind to alphaviruses.
We need to understand where broadly protective antibodies attack and bind to the virus, Schiffner says. We can then use this information to design immunogens that focus antibodies onto regions conserved across alphaviruses.
The team has already identified several such cross-protective antibodies, providing valuable blueprints for immunogen design.
Normally, if you try to immunize with an entire virus, most of the antibodies will target regions that aren't conserved among different viruses, so you get a vaccine that only works for a particular strain, Schiffner explains. There are very few regions that seem to be conserved across alphaviruses, and those are the regions that we want to target for broad protection against all alphaviruses.
Next is testing various immunogen designs with computer models that include AI algorithms. If a design seems promising, it's tested in vitro and in vivo.
But the role of AI doesn't end there; data from ensuing in vitro and in vivo experimentation are fed back to the AI system, which can rapidly analyze antibody sequences, determine whether the immunogen is focusing antibodies on regions conserved across variants, and provide improved algorithms for reoptimizing the vaccine design.
We'll find out if the antibodies actually target the regions that they're supposed to, Schiffner says. And once we get the AI results, we can use the information to improve our immunogen before the next stages; it's an iterative process.
The anticipated result: a broad vaccine that targets both encephalitic and arthritogenic alphaviruses that cause brain or joint inflammation, respectively. Moreover, the algorithms developed for this project could potentially be applied to other viruses, including influenza and HIV.
But the main goal is to have an effective, broad vaccines for alphaviruses before they become a major problem. emphasizes Schiffner.
Immunology & Microbiology Integrative Structural & Computational Biology
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
21/04/2026
Cloud-based production isnt going anywhere, and BitFire is doubling down by prov...
21/04/2026
The topic of artificial intelligence has a stranglehold on the sports-video-prod...
21/04/2026
5G is still a hot topic in live event production, and this workflow continues to...
21/04/2026
At the 2026 NAB Show, Ed McGivern, GM and President of Appear US, discusses the ...
21/04/2026
Studio Network Solutions (SNS) has announced an on-premise AI suite designed for...
21/04/2026
Suite Studios has integrated its file-streaming technology into the newly announced Frame.io Drive, a desktop application from Adobe company Frame.io. The colla...
21/04/2026
Net Insight has integrated InSync Technology's FrameFormer into the Nimbra E...
21/04/2026
Fox Sports has selected Appear as a technology partner to support the next phase...
21/04/2026
Diversified has appointed Tyler Affolter as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) to lead the company's commercial organisation. The appointment follows the firm'...
21/04/2026
Layercake has formalised the integration of Bitmovin's video streaming infra...
21/04/2026
The International Judo Federation (IJF) has extended its distribution partnershi...
21/04/2026
Glookast has launched the Cinnafilm Tachyon plugin for its Media Producer and Me...
21/04/2026
Eutelsat has entered into an agreement with Cadena Tres, a division of Grupo Ima...
21/04/2026
Dolby Laboratories and TV Azteca have partnered to introduce Dolby Atmos immersive audio to free-to-air television broadcasts. The implementation utilises the A...
21/04/2026
FOX Entertainment partnered with Verizon to overcome significant production hurd...
21/04/2026
Osprey Video has announced its technology showcase for the NAB Show 2026, highli...
21/04/2026
Riedel Communications (Booth C4908) introduced a range of new solutions at NAB S...
21/04/2026
The NAB Show is in full swing, and the SVG and SVG Europe editorial teams are chasing down the hottest stories from all over the Las Vegas Convention Center. He...
21/04/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced the URSA Cine Immersive 100G, an immersive cinem...
21/04/2026
Clark Wire & Cable is continuing its evolution from cable supplier to full-scale solutions partner for broadcast and live production. At the 2026 NAB Show, we s...
21/04/2026
Rashad Frett attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Ricky at Eccles Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, UT. (Photo by George Pimentel/Shut...
21/04/2026
Five years ago, Spotify arrived in Pakistan, opening a new chapter in the country's music scene. Since then, local listeners have explored across genres, ge...
21/04/2026
Since its launch in 2020, RADAR has been our program for spotlighting emerging artists around the world. This year marks the sixth edition of RADAR Spain, our o...
21/04/2026
Offers compact wireless solution for pedalboards
Taiwanese audio brand Cloudvocal have announced the availability of a new pedalboard-friendly wireless syst...
21/04/2026
Latest hybrid sampling/synthesis instrument arrives
Arturia's Augmented series offerings rely on a mixture of sampling and synthesis, allowing users to ...
21/04/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to host Power Electronics Online Conference From Design to Vali...
21/04/2026
MAS and Lockheed Martin partner to establish an F-35 depot in Canada, enabling in-country sustainment and creating high-skilled aerospace jobs....
21/04/2026
Advertising strategies shift as competition grows for a large, active and qualit...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Layercake Deepens Bitmovin Integration to Power End-to-End Media Orchestration w...
21/04/2026
Cobalt Digital Announces Launch of blueCORE at NAB Show 2026: Compact Powerhouse...
21/04/2026
On-Premise AI Suite from Studio Network Solutions Debuts at NAB Show 2026
Melanie Ciotti April 21, 2026
0 Comments
Unlimited processing, no cloud depe...
21/04/2026
London, 21 April 2026 IBC today announced the appointment of Tim Banham as its first Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), a newly created role that reflects the or...
21/04/2026
Motion Design Tools - April 2026
Roland Kahlenberg April 21, 2026
0 Comments
Within 2 days, Maxon and Canva announced pro-level motion design apps - A...
21/04/2026
Chaos and Zero Density to Showcase Real-Time Ray Tracing for Virtual Studios and...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Scripps Research scientists receive up to $12M to create universal vaccine for alphaviruses Funding from ARPA-H will be used to develop a vaccine for alphaviruses in preparation of major outbreaks in the U.S.
