On Wednesday, I attended the Rose Cafe where GRF Ty led a discussion about his research with vaccines.  He explained how vaccines worked at a level that everyone could follow, and I learned quite a bit about the immune system and his research.  Ty started by describing how our immune systems protect us. For example, white blood cells continuously check for foreign pathogens and the body makes antibodies that recognize pathogens.  Vaccines help the body by teaching it what a certain kind of pathogen looks like, so that the body can immediately fight it if found later on.

Ty went on to describe how vaccines are made.  Some vaccines are made from the sugar coating of pathogens, while others may use other parts.  These sugar (carbohydrate) vaccines tend to be less effective, however. As a result, more effective vaccines made by attaching sugars to proteins have been produced.  Effective vaccines trigger a response from T-cells (a type of white blood cell), when they meet a certain threshold.

Ty also explained the challenges with making vaccines as bacteria become more resistant.  For example, newer strains of bacteria may bear no resemblance to older strains, and the immune system does not detect these strains.  In addition, bacteria may hide in host cells or pretend to be normal cells to evade detection by the immune system. The Meningitis B outbreak at Princeton and elsewhere was an example of this latter case.  

We also learned about Ty’s research aiming to engineer a vaccine for Francisella tularensis, using a new kind of vaccine with outer membrane vesicles.  This pathogen is a bioterrorist threat since it is virulent in aerosol form, and Ty’s research group has received funding from the US Department of Defense to develop a vaccine for it.  Lastly, Ty discussed the potential for vaccines to aid in cancer treatment and the field of immunotherapy.

Overall, I enjoyed this talk, as it gave an inside look into something that we often take for granted: vaccines.  The talk gave me a greater appreciation for researchers like Ty who are working to keep people healthy and safe, and I look forward to hearing about new breakthroughs from his lab in the future.