Whooping cough, caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis, is experiencing a global resurgence, with recent outbreaks reported in several regions of the United States. Dr. Nicholas Mantis of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Wadsworth Center has received two new research awards supporting the development of improved whole-cell pertussis (wP) vaccines.
The first is a two-year, $1.4 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to evaluate the impact of combining the wP vaccine with up to five additional vaccines targeting childhood diseases, including diphtheria, tetanus, and polio. This work will be conducted in close collaboration with the Vaccine Analytics and Formulation Center at the University of Kansas.
The second award is part of a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health to Antigen Discovery, Inc. (Irvine, CA), aimed at expanding the development of proteome arrays critical for wP vaccine manufacturing. The Mantis Lab will play a key role in the design and assessment of prototype arrays.