Vaccine using Yersinia membrane particles to prevent pneumonic plague
Official title: Yersinia Outer-Membrane-Vesicle Vaccines Against Pneumonic Plague
Funded at Albany Medical College · NIH-11377224 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A new vaccine made from harmless bacterial membrane particles aims to protect people from pneumonic plague.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Albany Medical College NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Albany, United States) |
| Project start | January 25, 2022 |
| Project end | December 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $607,274 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AI162670-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11377224 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Eventually, people at increased risk for plague—such as travelers to endemic areas, certain laboratory workers, responders in outbreak zones, or military personnel—would be the primary candidates for this vaccine.
✕Less likely to help
Most people with no exposure risk to Yersinia pestis, or those with contraindications to bacterial-derived vaccines, would be unlikely to benefit directly from this work.
What this research studies
Researchers are building a vaccine that uses tiny outer-membrane vesicles (OMVs) from a related, non-disease Yersinia species to carry several protective plague proteins. They will engineer bacteria to produce OMVs that include multiple Yersinia pestis antigens and natural adjuvant signals to boost immunity. The team will test these OMV vaccines in mice and rats to see if they produce strong antibody and cellular immune responses and protect against infection. Scientists will also study exactly how the immune system responds to these OMVs to guide safer and more effective vaccine design.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could produce a broadly protective acellular vaccine against pneumonic plague, including strains that evade current antigen targets.
How similar studies have gone: OMV vaccines have been successful for other bacteria and prior subunit plague vaccines targeting F1/LcrV showed some protection, but using multi-antigen Yersinia OMVs for plague is a newer and less-tested approach.
Where this research is happening
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Albany Medical College
Albany, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sun, Wei — Albany Medical College
- Study coordinator: Sun, Wei
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.