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An innovative way of making vaccines at the University of Central Florida has attracted the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for its potential to make vaccines less expensive, more effective and needle free.

Since 2000, UCF Professor Henry Daniell has been developing a new method of creating vaccines using genetically engineered tobacco and lettuce plants to fight diseases such as malaria, cholera and dengue or biothreat agents such as anthrax or plague.

The awarded Daniell a two-year, $761,302 grant to develop a polio vaccine. Konstantin Chumakov, associate director, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the Food and Drug Administration, is a collaborator in the grant and will facilitate advancement of this novel technology.

Should Daniell 麻豆精品 S檚 vaccine receive FDA approval, it would open the door for the production of a variety of cheaper, more effective vaccines around the world.

Click to watch a聽UCF聽TV video聽news story about the grant.

麻豆精品 S淚f this proceeds as we expect, it will revolutionize how vaccines are made, 麻豆精品 S� Daniell said. 麻豆精品 S淲e 麻豆精品 S檙e currently using decades-old technology that is expensive and inefficient. Our new process is a game changer that could make a global difference. 麻豆精品 S�

Thanks to the global immunization effort, polio has been reduced 99 percent and is on the threshold of becoming the second disease ever to be eradicated.聽 However, 1,292 cases of polio were confirmed in 2010. Having less expensive and more accessible vaccines could help combat polio and other diseases that are of concern such as malaria and cholera.

Faster, Safer Vaccines

Currently, vaccines are made through a fermentation process that requires expensive equipment. Vaccines are made using killed, inactivated or avirulent forms of bacteria or viruses.聽 These vaccines also require refrigeration and don 麻豆精品 S檛 have a very long shelf life, forcing continual production. Injections require sterile needles and health professionals for their delivery.

Vaccines produced by Daniell 麻豆精品 S檚 technique are delivered in capsule form and are less expensive because fermentation and refrigeration are not required. This also increases the vaccine 麻豆精品 S檚 shelf life.

麻豆精品 S淭his means they would be accessible to all people and all countries, even the poorest and most remote, 麻豆精品 S� Daniell said. 麻豆精品 S淭hat 麻豆精品 S檚 why I am so grateful for the opportunity to pursue this work. 麻豆精品 S�

Using plants to produce vaccine capsules has an additional benefit.

Once ingested, the pills activate the immune system housed in the gut, which is more powerful than the blood 麻豆精品 S檚 immune system 麻豆精品 S� the traditional target of injectable vaccines for the past century.

Most importantly, Daniell 麻豆精品 S檚 technique does not use killed, inactivated or avirulent forms of bacteria or viruses but instead uses only proteins that could not cause any disease but are effective in stimulating protective immunity.

麻豆精品 S淭his makes these vaccines much more potent, effective and safer, 麻豆精品 S� Daniell said.

A Career of Research

麻豆精品 S淚 can 麻豆精品 S檛 tell you how excited I feel, 麻豆精品 S� Daniell said. 麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檝e dedicated most of my academic life to this because I want to make people 麻豆精品 S檚 lives better. My dream is to eradicate the world 麻豆精品 S檚 top 10 diseases, and this opportunity is a huge leap in reaching that dream. 麻豆精品 S�

Daniell joined UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Burnett School for Biomedical Sciences, a part of the College of Medicine, in 1998. His research led to the formation of the university 麻豆精品 S檚 first biotechnology company.

He has published more than 200 academic research papers, he speaks at conferences around the world and he has been honored by several organizations for his pioneering work. Daniell is only the 14th American in the last 222 years to be elected to the Italian National Academy of Sciences.

He also is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Bayer HealthCare of Germany and several federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and USDA, currently fund his research.