Nanoparticle vaccines designed to protect against many coronaviruses
Official title: Development of broad nanovaccines targeting diverse coronavirus receptor-binding sites
Funded at Wistar Institute · NIH-11389943 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project aims to create nanoparticle vaccines that trigger broad protection against many coronaviruses for people at risk of COVID-19 and future coronavirus outbreaks.
Quick facts
| Grant type | P01 program project |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Wistar Institute NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Philadelphia, United States) |
| Project start | September 22, 2022 |
| Project end | August 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $285,928 |
| NIH project number | 4P01AI165066-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11389943 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People seeking broader protection against SARS-CoV-2 variants and related coronaviruses, especially those at higher risk of exposure or severe disease, would be the intended future beneficiaries.
✕Less likely to help
Individuals needing immediate treatment for active infection or people who cannot mount vaccine responses (for example, some severely immunocompromised patients) may not directly benefit from this preclinical vaccine development work.
What this research studies
Researchers are using detailed structural information to design tiny particle-based vaccines that focus immune responses on shared receptor-binding sites across coronaviruses. They will build libraries of viral mutants that escape immunity, deliver engineered nanoparticle vaccines using nucleic-acid methods, and test vaccine schedules to produce broadly neutralizing antibodies. Most work will be done in the lab and in preclinical models to measure immune responses and protection across diverse coronavirus strains. If these approaches work, they could inform future human vaccine trials aimed at preventing current variants and potential pandemic coronaviruses.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could lead to vaccines that protect people from a wider range of coronavirus variants and future pandemic strains.
How similar studies have gone: Structure-guided and nanoparticle vaccine approaches have shown promising immune responses in the lab and animal studies and have informed COVID-19 vaccine design, but true pan-coronavirus protection remains largely unproven in humans.
Where this research is happening
-
Wistar Institute
Philadelphia, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kulp, Daniel — Wistar Institute
- Study coordinator: Kulp, Daniel
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.