We believe that vaccination is crucial in combating infectious diseases, especially with the increasing antibiotic resistance of bacterial pathogens. Many licensed carbohydrate-based vaccines targeting S.pneumonia, N. meningitidis, H. influenzae and S. typhi Vi use carbohydrate antigens isolated form microbial cultures conjugated to a protein carrier. Manufacturing these vaccines includes complex purification and quality control. To address the need for well-defined and modular vaccines, we are exploring the use of fast peptide ligases for attaching antigens onto a pre-formed scaffold. This approach would simplify the manufacturing process, as it bypasses the need to assemble a protein construct resulting from the gene fusion of a carrier and antigenic protein. Our research focuses on medically important carbohydrate antigens relevant to K. pneumoniae, P. falciparum, and E. faecalis. We will test the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of these conjugated carriers in murine models and relevant cell-based assays as part of our multidisciplinary AMR IRG team.

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