Email
brittani.hays@bcm.edu
Positions
- Research Assistant (GS)
-
Virol and Micro: Zechiedrich
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX, US
Education
- BS from Oklahoma State University
-
05/2015 -
Stillwater
- Biochemistry, Molecular/Cell Biology, Microbiology
Professional Statement
Development of a novel DNA vaccine towards Respiratory Syncytial Virus
Respiratory Syncytial Virus is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in young infants and children worldwide, therefore, developing a vaccine is of utmost importance. DNA vaccines are a promising platform for safe and low cost immunization, however, they have performed poorly in clinical trials to date. This failure is attributed to low immunogenicity, which is caused by poor transfection efficiency and gene expression of plasmid DNA. Minivectors, which are small, supercoiled, circular DNA, contain only the expression cassette of interest and can transfect and express better than their plasmid counterparts. Minivectors thus are a promising tool for delivery of DNA vaccines.
