# Development of a novel vaccine platform: Surface Antigen/Adjuvant Vaccine Engineering (SAAVE)

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA · 2020 · $749,669

## Abstract

Abstract
 Vaccination is perhaps the most effective public health intervention in the history of mankind. Over the past
200 years, there have been many accomplishments in vaccine development with successes against diseases
such as smallpox, polio, tetanus, diphtheria, and others. However, there is an ever-growing need for new
vaccine technologies to combat diseases that are difficult to target. Furthermore, vaccination may be the only
course of action to prevent infectious diseases caused by multi-drug resistant pathogens. The primary
objective of the current application is to develop a vaccine platform that allows for the display of both
engineered antigens and adjuvants on the surface of non-pathogenic E. coli. This platform permits the use of
whole bacteria and outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) as both vaccine production and vaccine delivery systems.
In the current application, this innovative, efficient, and cost-effective vaccine platform will be directly applied to
the production of a broadly protective, universal influenza vaccine.
 Seasonal influenza epidemics cause millions of cases of severe infection per year worldwide and an
uncontrolled influenza pandemic could result in the death of tens of millions. The most effective approach to
protecting the population from influenza is through vaccination; however, current influenza vaccines are not
broadly protective and must be updated yearly in an inefficient, expensive, and laborious process. Our new
antigen/adjuvant bacterial display platform has the potential to overcome these weaknesses. The Specific
Aims of this proposal are (i) to engineer the bacterial surface of E. coli for display of targeted antigens and
adjuvants for protective vaccines, (ii) to engineer the production of polyvalent influenza vaccine offering
heterosubtypic immunity, and (iii) to test the efficacy and durability of protection induced by our engineered
universal influenza vaccines in ferrets.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9899172
- **Project number:** 5R01AI129940-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Michael Stephen Trent
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $749,669
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-05-22 → 2022-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9899172

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9899172, Development of a novel vaccine platform: Surface Antigen/Adjuvant Vaccine Engineering (SAAVE) (5R01AI129940-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9899172. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*