Graduate Training Program in Multidimensional Vaccinogenesis

描述（由申请人提供）：虽然没有一种疾病预防方法比免疫接种更广泛有效，但很少有疫苗，特别是那些成分明确的疫苗，能够到达公众手中。百日咳等传染性疾病的重新出现、新传染病的出现以及生物恐怖主义的幽灵，突显了迅速将免疫原从实验室转移到公共卫生领域的重要性。由于配方、稳定性和递送方面的问题，大多数免疫原不能作为疫苗使用。除了发现免疫原之外，研制疫苗还需要：a)对抗原进行物理和化学分析；B)配方以最大限度地提高稳定性和免疫原性潜力（例如，佐剂使用）；c)递送的表征与优化。这条路径通常需要过多的试验和错误，每一步都有延迟和高失败率。我们提出了疫苗发生的概念，这是一个从候选免疫原创造疫苗的集体过程。由于需要跨越传统学科界限的见解，疫苗开发长期以来既是一门艺术，也是一门科学。这一过程本质上是跨学科的，采用生物化学、药理学、免疫学、生物学和生物物理学，并结合复杂的逻辑和实证分析。我们建议开发一种我们称之为多维疫苗发生的方法，它涵盖了免疫原发现和临床试验之间的步骤。多维疫苗发生必须从经过多语言培训的新一代专业人员发展而来，因为他们可以用生物化学、生物学、数学和物理学的语言进行交流。我们概述了培养新一代科学家的方法。本研究生培训计划的目标是：1)建立一个跨学科的研究和培训环境，并针对可用疫苗起源中面临的重要问题；2)形成一种文化，将跨学科研究的多种语言作为探索疫苗开发问题的手段。这些目标将通过建立现有的跨学科合作来实现。然后，我们将进一步开发一门课程，将疫苗发生的生物学和生物物理学与定量方法和数据管理相结合。预期的结果是培养新一代疫苗学家，他们可以有效地为改善国内、国外和生物防御领域的公共卫生做出贡献。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): While no disease prevention approach is more broadly powerful than immunization, few vaccines, especially those of defined composition, ever reach the public. The re-emergence of communicable illnesses like pertussis, the emergence of new infectious diseases and the specter of bioterrorism, underscore the importance for expeditiously moving immunogens out of the laboratory and into the realm of public health. Most immunogens fail as vaccines due to problems in formulation, stabilization and delivery. Beyond immunogen discovery, vaccine creation requires: a) physical and chemical analysis of the antigen; b) formulation to maximize stability and immunogenic potential (e.g., adjuvant use); and c) characterization and optimization of delivery. This path often entails excessive trial and error with delays at each step and a high failure rate. We propose the concept of vaccinogenesis, which is the collective process of creating vaccines from candidate immunogens. By requiring insights that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries, vaccine development has long been an art as much as a science. The process is inherently interdisciplinary and employs biochemistry, pharmacology, immunology, biology, and biophysics in conjunction with complicated logical and empirical analyses. We propose to develop an approach we call Multidimensional Vaccinogenesis, which covers the steps between immunogen discovery and clinical testing. Multidimensional Vaccinogenesis must evolve from a new generation of professionals trained to be multilingual in that they can communicate in the languages of biochemistry, biology, mathematics and physics. We outline a means to prepare this new generation of scientists. The goals of this Graduate Training Program are: 1) develop a research and training environment that is interdisciplinary and targets the important issues faced in the genesis of useable vaccines; and 2) generate a culture that practices the diverse languages of interdisciplinary research as the means for exploring problems in vaccine development. These goals will be accomplished by building upon existing interdisciplinary collaborations. We will then further develop a curriculum that combines the biology and biophysics of vaccinogenesis with quantitative methods and data management. The expected outcome is the development of a new generation of vaccinologists who can efficiently contribute to improved public health domestically, abroad, and in the arena of biodefense.