Background

• Vaccines containing live, attenuated pathogens trigger stronger and longer-lasting immune responses compared to those containing killed pathogens
• Live vaccines carry potential risks to immuno-compromised individuals, as well as a more expensive and complex supply chain
• Adjuvants are compounds which increase local and systemic immune reactions to vaccines
• Current adjuvants (aluminum, oils, or salts) do not elicit the same immune response as live pathogens
• Canonical molecular patterns that alert the immune system of pathogens are present in both live and killed vaccines, suggesting an uncharacterized signal of pathogen viability to our immune system
• Unmet Need: Development of a non-live vaccine which elicits a robust immune response comparable to that of live vaccines