Ty Moeller explained his work with vaccines very well, especially to someone like me who does not speak science! He explained how vaccines can come from live bacteria, dead bacteria or by using cell parts to invoke an immune response. There is so much tedious and time-consuming work that goes into developing new vaccines. Ty was able to explain first the basics of how the immune system works constantly to protect us and then how the role of vaccines plays into that process. I got the most value from this Rose Café in the fact that I gained a better understanding of what the vaccine medications I permit doctors to administer me are actually doing to my body and also what questions to ask in order to be informed about what type of vaccines there are.

Another interesting part of the discussion was Ty Moellers work here at Cornell that it funded by the Department of Defense. Ty works to create a vaccine for bacteria that is considered a bio threat. These bacteria may be transmitted through the air and easy made into an aerosol form. It was originally engineered during the Cold War but now poses a serious risk in the eyes of the government. Using sugars and parts of cell membranes we constantly work to engineer new vaccines in novel ways.