Vaccine Adjuvant Research Programs

Areas of Adjuvant Research

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Adjuvant Discovery and Mechanistic Research

Discovery and Mechanistic Research seeks to identify novel adjuvant candidates that can be used to augment the efficacy of human vaccines and elucidate the immune mechanism of novel receptors.

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Adjuvant Comparison

Adjuvant Comparison programs support the side-by-side comparison of experimental vaccines formulated with different adjuvants, to include comprehensive assessments of the strength, quality, breadth, and durability of immune responses.

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Adjuvant Development

Adjuvant Development supports the preclinical development of novel adjuvants for use in vaccines targeting immune-mediated or infectious diseases. 

A clinical trial participant getting a vaccine

Clinical Evaluation

This program is intended to address the limited availability of adjuvants that mimic those with a favorable clinical track record or show high potential in late pre-clinical testing.

Contact Information

Points of contact for each program can be found on individual program pages.

Vaccine Adjuvant Compendium (VAC)

The Vaccine Adjuvant Compendium (VAC) was launched in 2021 by the NIAID Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Transplantation (DAIT) to foster collaborations between NIAID-supported adjuvant researchers and the broader scientific community.

Read more about VAC
Adjuvant Webinar Series

The NIAID Adjuvant Webinar Series presents current research relating to vaccine adjuvants on the fourth Tuesday of every month from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. (ET) .

Read more and find out how to attend the Adjuvant Webinar Series
Content Coordinator
Venera Barsaku
Content Manager
Adelina Bartels
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Influenza vaccine candidate vials
Introduction

NIAID plays a leading role in the discovery, development, and characterization of new vaccine adjuvants that may be used to: improve the efficacy of current vaccines; design new or improved vaccines for existing and emerging infectious diseases; and develop vaccines to treat allergies, autoimmune diseases, and cancer.

Networks & Programs
Adjuvant

BCBB Scientific Services and Resources

The Bioinformatics and Computational Biosciences Branch (BCBB) offers a suite of scientific services and resources for the NIAID research community and its collaborators. BCBB provides expertise and computational solutions to researchers at all levels of experience. Computational biologists collaborate on projects using a wide variety of techniques and approaches, and offer research support and training on software to answer related research questions.

Fernanda D. Young, M.D.

Section or Unit Name
Food Allergy Research Section
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Section/Unit: Year Established
Section/Unit: Location
NIH Main Campus, Bethesda, MD
This Researcher/Clinician’s Person Page
Fernanda D. Young, M.D.
Parent Lab/Program
Laboratory of Allergic Diseases
Program Description

Food allergy is a significant health problem in the United States, affecting children and adults, both immune competent and immune compromised. The overall goal of the Food Allergy Research Section (FARS) is to understand the genetic, immunologic, and biochemical pathways that lead to the development of food allergy and how they can be modified for therapeutic benefit. We aim to achieve this goal using a multifaceted approach with studies involving both patients and animal models of their diseases.

Our team in particular is studying why only some patients who have detectable IgE to specific foods experience an allergic reaction when they eat the food, and we are working to identify immunologic markers that can predict the severity and persistence of food allergy.

By achieving a greater understanding of the key environmental, immunologic, and biochemical pathways that drive the development of food allergy, we will be able to develop novel interventions that are based on a advanced understanding of disease pathogenesis.

Clinical Studies
Selected Publications

Tsao LR, Young FD, Otani IM, Castells MC. Hypersensitivity Reactions to Platinum Agents and Taxanes. Clin Rev Allergy Immunol. 2022 Jun;62(3):432-448.

Hubbard TP, Billings G, Dörr T, Sit B, Warr AR, Kuehl CJ, Kim M, Delgado F, Mekalanos JJ, Lewnard JA, Waldor MK. A live vaccine rapidly protects against cholera in an infant rabbit model. Sci Transl Med. 2018 Jun 13;10(445):eaap8423.

Dörr T, Delgado F, Umans BD, Gerding MA, Davis BM, Waldor MK. A Transposon Screen Identifies Genetic Determinants of Vibrio cholerae Resistance to High-Molecular-Weight Antibiotics. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2016 Jul 22;60(8):4757-63.

Dörr T, Alvarez L, Delgado F, Davis BM, Cava F, Waldor MK. A cell wall damage response mediated by a sensor kinase/response regulator pair enables beta-lactam tolerance. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016 Jan 12;113(2):404-9.

Malen R, Knerr S, Delgado F, Fullerton SM, Thompson B. Rural Mexican-Americans' perceptions of family health history, genetics, and disease risk: implications for disparities-focused research dissemination. J Community Genet. 2016 Jan;7(1):91-6.

Delgado F, Tabor HK, Chow PM, Conta JH, Feldman KW, Tsuchiya KD, Beck AE. Single-nucleotide polymorphism arrays and unexpected consanguinity: considerations for clinicians when returning results to families. Genet Med. 2015 May;17(5):400-4.

Visit PubMed for a complete publication listing.

Additional Information

Related News

NIAID Recognizes October as Eczema Awareness Month

Major Areas of Research

Dr. Young’s work places an emphasis on clinical research to identify contributory factors to:

  • food allergy and allergic disease
  • transplant associated food allergy
  • drug allergy and drug reactions

Kevin Rubenstein, M.S.

Infectious Diseases Clinical Fellowship Program Alumni Testimonials

Notice of Special Interest (NOSI)—Administrative Supplement for Continuity of Biomedical and Behavioral Research Among First-Time Recipients of NIH Research Project Grant Awards

The overarching goal of this program is to enhance the retention of investigators facing critical life events who are transitioning to the first renewal of their first independent research project grant award or to a second new NIH research project grant award. Retention at the first renewal or continuous NIH research project grant support is crucial for sustaining both the ongoing research NIH has made an investment in and for retaining diverse talent in the biomedical research workforce.

Notice of Special Interest— Administrative Supplements to Promote Research Continuity and Retention of NIH Mentored Career Development (K) Award Recipients and Scholars

Amy Tillman, M.S.

Amy Tillman, M.S. is a Biostatistician III in the Biostatistics Research Branch at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Notice of Special Interest (NOSI)—Advancing Research for Tickborne Diseases (TBDs)

The purpose of this Notice is to announce that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) encourage new applications to advance research activities relevant to the five strategic priorities identified in the recently released NIH Strategic Plan for Tickborne Disease Research:

Notice of Special Interest (NOSI)—Complement in Fundamental Immunology

The complement system is an evolutionarily conserved component of innate immunity that serves as a first line of defense against infection. Complement-associated molecules, known as C1 through C9, operate in a cascade of enzymatic reactions that can ultimately lead to lysis of infected cells and opsonization of pathogens to aid in phagocytic clearance. Three major pathways of complement activation have been described that are triggered independently, namely the classical, the lectin, and the alternative pathways, all of which merge at the step of C3 activation.
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