News Releases from 2021
Integrating plant molecular farming and materials research for next-generation vaccines
Biologics — medications derived from a biological source — are increasingly used as pharmaceuticals, for example, as vaccines. Biologics are usually produced in bacterial, mammalian or insect cells. Alternatively, plant molecular farming, that is, the manufacture of biologics in plant cells, transgenic plants and algae, offers a cheaper and easily adaptable strategy for the production of biologics, in particular, in low-resource settings. In this Review, we discuss current vaccination challenges, such as cold chain requirements, and highlight how plant molecular farming in combination with advanced materials can be applied to address these challenges. Full Story
10 Jacobs School faculty among 2021 list of most highly cited researchers in the world
Ten professors at the University of California San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering are among the world’s most influential researchers in their fields. The professors, Ludmil Alexandrov, Trey Ideker, Rob Knight, Prashant Mali, Ying Shirley Meng, Shyue Ping Ong, Bernhard O. Palsson, Joseph Wang, Sheng Xu and Liangfang Zhang, are amone 51 professors and researchers at UC San Diego named in the prestigious list of Highly Cited Researchers in 2021. Full Story
Flu virus shells could improve delivery of mRNA into cells
UC San Diego nanoengineers developed a new and potentially more effective way to deliver messenger RNA (mRNA) into cells. Their approach involves packing mRNA inside nanoparticles that mimic the flu virus—a naturally efficient vehicle for delivering genetic material such as RNA inside cells. Full Story
Mosaic ImmunoEngineering Expands Its Modular Vaccine Platform (MVP) Through New Technology Licensing Agreement with the University of California San D
Mosaic ImmunoEngineering Inc., a development-stage biotechnology company focused on bridging immunology and engineering to develop novel immunotherapies to treat and prevent cancer and infectious diseases, today announced that it has licensed rights to develop and commercialize several novel vaccine candidates that have been validated in pre-clinical infectious disease studies including SARS-CoV-2 and other infectious disease applications. The new technology was licensed from the University of California San Diego and expands the Company's Modular Vaccine Platform (MVP) for infectious diseases. Full Story
Grow and eat your own vaccines?
The future of vaccines may look more like eating a salad than getting a shot in the arm. Scientists at UC San Diego, UC Riverside and Carnegie Mellon University are studying whether they can turn edible plants like lettuce into mRNA vaccine factories. One of the challenges with this new technology is that it must be kept cold to maintain stability during transport and storage. If this new project is successful, plant-based mRNA vaccines — which can be eaten — could overcome this challenge with the ability to be stored at room temperature. Full Story
How a plant virus could protect and save your lungs from metastatic cancer
Using a virus that grows in black-eyed pea plants, researchers developed a new therapy that could keep metastatic cancers from spreading to the lungs, as well as treat established tumors in the lungs. Full Story
These fridge-free COVID-19 vaccines are grown in plants and bacteria
Nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego have developed COVID-19 vaccine candidates that can take the heat. Their key ingredients? Viruses from plants or bacteria. Full Story
Ultrasound remotely triggers immune cells to attack tumors in mice without toxic side effects
A new cancer immunotherapy pairs ultrasound with cancer-killing immune cells to destroy malignant tumors while sparing normal tissue. The approach could make chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy safer and effective at treating solid tumors. Full Story
Genetically engineered nanoparticle delivers dexamethasone directly to inflamed lungs
Nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego have developed immune cell-mimicking nanoparticles that target inflammation in the lungs and deliver drugs directly where they’re needed. As a proof of concept, the researchers filled the nanoparticles with the drug dexamethasone and administered them to mice with inflamed lung tissue. Full Story
Super productive 3D bioprinter could help speed up drug development
A new 3D bioprinter developed by UC San Diego nanoengineers operates at record speed—it can print a 96-well array of living human tissue samples within 30 minutes. The technology could help accelerate high-throughput preclinical drug screening and make it less costly. Full Story
UC San Diego researchers developing COVID-19 vaccine technology -- no refrigeration or second dose needed
UC San Diego nanoengineering professors Nicole Steinmetz and Jon Pokorski have been awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop an mRNA vaccine against COVID-19 that is stable outside of the cold chain and only requires a single-dose. Full Story