A vaccine that blocks the pneumococcus' sticky proteins to stop it living in the nose and throat
Official title: Rational design of an adhesin-based pneumococcal vaccine targeting colonization
Funded at Mississippi State University · NIH-11221660 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This work is developing a vaccine that teaches the immune system to block Streptococcus pneumoniae from sticking in the nose and throat to help prevent infections for people at risk.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R15 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Mississippi State University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Mississippi State, United States) |
| Project start | September 17, 2020 |
| Project end | August 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $528,735 |
| NIH project number | 2R15AI142537-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11221660 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants would be people willing to donate blood serum, including those with prior pneumococcal exposure or vaccination, so researchers can study natural antibody responses.
✕Less likely to help
People who are severely immunocompromised and cannot make effective antibody responses may not benefit from a vaccine developed from this work.
What this research studies
Researchers are identifying specific surface proteins (adhesins) on pneumococcus that let the bacteria attach to respiratory cells. They are using human blood serum to find IgA antibodies that naturally block that attachment and testing those antibodies in lab cell-based assays. The team will prioritize adhesins that most people do not already make blocking antibodies against and use those as vaccine targets. The goal is vaccine candidates that work across many pneumococcal types by preventing colonization at its source.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could lead to a vaccine that reduces nasal carriage of pneumococcus and lowers the chance of invasive infections across many serotypes.
How similar studies have gone: Existing pneumococcal conjugate vaccines prevent invasive disease but not colonization, and targeting adhesins is a promising but relatively new approach supported mainly by early lab data.
Where this research is happening
-
Mississippi State University
Mississippi State, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Thornton, Justin a — Mississippi State University
- Study coordinator: Thornton, Justin a
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.