West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that causes neurological disease and fatalities annually in the United States and Europe, but no human WNV vaccines have been licensed. Studies of WNV vaccine candidates ...

The detailed mechanism(s) of Burkholderia mallei pathogenesis is virtually unknown, with the production of a polysaccharide capsule and presence of secretion systems as the only known mechanisms associated with virulence. ...

West Nile virus (WNV) is responsible for the largest outbreak of viral encephalitis in the history of North America, yet there are no vaccines available to prevent this disease. To address these needs we have developed ...

The following work was focused on production and testing of a novel live-attenuated chikungunya virus (CHIKV) vaccine. To this end, multiple strategies were adapted from the IRES-based vaccine strategy first employed with ...

The functions and properties of proteins are mainly determined by their amino acid sequences and 3-dimensional structures. Motifs composed of amino acids that are either continuous in sequence or cluster in space play ...

The genus Rickettsia contains some of the most lethal pathogens known to man, including Rickettsia prowazekii, a select agent that could be used as a biological weapon. Although Rickettsia spp. cause important diseases ...

During RNA virus replication, there is the potential to incorporate mutations that affect virulence or pathogenesis. For live-attenuated vaccines, this has implications for stability, as replication may result in mutations ...