A weakened live vaccine meant to protect against all four dengue virus types
Official title: Mechanisms of Protection and Durability for a Live Attenuated Tetravalent Dengue Vaccine
Funded at University of Vermont & St Agric College · NIH-11285314 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project is developing a weakened live vaccine to provide long-lasting protection against all four dengue viruses for children and adults, including people who have never had dengue.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Vermont & St Agric College NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Burlington, United States) |
| Project start | February 1, 2019 |
| Project end | January 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $691,291 |
| NIH project number | 5U01AI141997-08 |
| Project ID | NIH-11285314 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are children and adults in or traveling to dengue‑endemic regions, including people who have never had dengue and are willing to join vaccine follow‑up visits.
✕Less likely to help
People who are severely immunocompromised, allergic to vaccine ingredients, or already have strong immunity to all four dengue serotypes may not benefit from participating.
What this research studies
If you join, you'll receive the live weakened TetraVax vaccine and be followed over time to see how well and how long it protects. The team will collect blood samples to measure antibodies, B cells, and CD4+/CD8+ T cell responses that may explain protection. In some parts of the work, participants who are dengue‑naïve were previously given a controlled exposure to a dengue type to test protection, and similar approaches will compare people in the U.S. and dengue‑endemic areas like Bangladesh. Researchers will compare responses in children, adults, and people with prior dengue exposure to learn what immune patterns give balanced, durable protection against all four serotypes.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to a vaccine that gives broad, long‑lasting protection against dengue and lowers the risk of severe disease worldwide.
How similar studies have gone: Related work with the NIH TetraVax vaccine has shown protection of dengue‑naïve adults against a controlled dengue‑2 exposure at six months, but durability across all four serotypes and performance in endemic populations remains under study.
Where this research is happening
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University of Vermont & St Agric College
Burlington, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Diehl, Sean a. — University of Vermont & St Agric College
- Study coordinator: Diehl, Sean a.
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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.