New vaccine approaches for Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever
Official title: Analysis of a novel Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever vaccine and its mechanism of protection in rodent models
Funded at Thomas Jefferson University · NIH-11174272 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Testing two inactivated virus-based vaccine designs intended to protect people at risk of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Thomas Jefferson University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Philadelphia, United States) |
| Project start | August 25, 2022 |
| Project end | July 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $788,659 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AI167295-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11174272 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ultimately, people at high risk for CCHFV—healthcare workers, livestock handlers, and residents or travelers in endemic regions—would be the likely candidates for future human vaccine trials.
✕Less likely to help
Because this is preclinical animal research, people already sick with CCHFV or those not exposed to tick-borne risk will not directly benefit from these experiments right now.
What this research studies
Researchers are developing and comparing two inactivated rhabdovirus-based vaccine designs using rabies and vesicular stomatitis virus backbones to create immune protection against CCHFV. They will give the vaccines to mice and measure antibody responses and protection. The team will also build a safer, non-BSL-4 VSV-based mouse challenge model to study how the vaccines work. These experiments are done in the lab to identify the best candidates and understand the immune mechanisms before any human testing.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could produce vaccine candidates and safer preclinical testing methods that speed development of a human CCHFV vaccine.
How similar studies have gone: An older inactivated whole-virus vaccine failed in humans, but inactivated rhabdoviral vaccine approaches have protected animals against other hemorrhagic fever viruses, so the idea has supportive animal-model precedent though human data are lacking.
Where this research is happening
-
Thomas Jefferson University
Philadelphia, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Schnell, Matthias Johannes — Thomas Jefferson University
- Study coordinator: Schnell, Matthias Johannes
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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.