Wyss InstituteVaccines – Wyss Institute https://wyss.harvard.edu Wyss Institute at Harvard Thu, 16 Apr 2026 18:53:44 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 Building protection against infectious diseases with nanostructured vaccines https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/building-protection-against-infectious-diseases-with-nanostructured-vaccines/ Wed, 11 Mar 2026 12:56:44 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=45012 Wyss Institute’s DoriVac combined vaccine and adjuvant technology uses nanoscale precision enabled by DNA origami to induce broad immunity against infectious viruses By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — The COVID-19 pandemic brought messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines to the forefront of global health care. After their clinical trial stages, the first COVID-19 mRNA vaccine was administered on 8 December 2020 and mathematical models suggest that mRNA vaccines prevented at least 14.4 million deaths from COVID-19 in the first year alone.

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/building-protection-against-infectious-diseases-with-nanostructured-vaccines/ https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2022/10/19140258/banner-image-DoriVac.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=02c46a8a5e23e0c41c361cb65f4eb81c"/> 20-ish Questions with David J. Mooney https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/20-ish-questions-with-david-j-mooney/ Fri, 19 Dec 2025 13:41:58 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?post_type=media_post&p=44490 20-ish Questions shows a different side of Wyss Institute faculty, touching on aspects of their personal life, hobbies, interests, as well as their research. This round follows David J. Mooney, a Founding Core Faculty member and Lead of the Immuno-Materials platform at the Wyss Institute. He is also the Robert P. Pinkas Family Professor of Bioengineering at the Harvard John A.

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/20-ish-questions-with-david-j-mooney/ https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2025/12/19083743/THUMBNAIL_20-ish-Questions-with-David-J-Mooney_No-Text-scaled.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=ee9a547c989fc343286407494c5071c9"/> First-in-human clinical trial of personalized, biomaterial-based cancer vaccine demonstrates feasibility, safety, and immune activation https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/first-in-human-clinical-trial-of-personalized-biomaterial-based-cancer-vaccine-demonstrates-feasibility-safety-and-immune-activation/ Wed, 10 Dec 2025 17:11:46 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=44432 The successful trial provides a path to future immunotherapies, assessing advanced biomaterial-based cancer vaccines in combination with checkpoint blockade inhibitors By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — The first-in-human phase I clinical trial assessing the feasibility and safety of WDVAX, an immunostimulatory biomaterial-based cancer vaccine, in a cohort of 21 patients with stage 4 metastatic melanoma, was concluded with positive outcomes that encourage future vaccine developments and trials to test them in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitor…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/first-in-human-clinical-trial-of-personalized-biomaterial-based-cancer-vaccine-demonstrates-feasibility-safety-and-immune-activation/ Mary Gooding, a patient who was treated with a cancer vaccine against her melanoma, in conversation with David Mooney in the Wyss Institute lab. Credit: Aram Boghosian for the <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2018/08/02/boston-biotech-boom-could-bring-bold-new-treatments-for-cancer/fH7u5NLUdkA3YNTieIIzPI/story.html>Boston Globe.</a> https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2025/12/09105219/W4MJB5UUAII6RMDMLDEFPV2BVA.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=62c8bb0f753dd67f4511228a37ed82ba"/> Biomaterial vaccines to make implanted orthopedic devices safer https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/biomaterial-vaccines-to-make-implanted-orthopedic-devices-safer/ Mon, 03 Nov 2025 19:55:42 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=42430 Biomaterial vaccines using pathogen-specific antigens could significantly lower patients’ risk of infection from implanted medical devices By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — Patients with implanted medical devices like orthopedic joint replacements, pacemakers, and artificial heart valves run a small but significant risk that these devices get infected with bacterial pathogens. This starts them on a burdensome path requiring “redo” (revision) surgeries, prolonged antibiotic treatments, or in severe cases amputation.

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/biomaterial-vaccines-to-make-implanted-orthopedic-devices-safer/ A team at Harvard’s Wyss Institute and SEAS has developed a novel vaccine strategy with the potential to solve the challenge of device infection in patients. Applied to a mouse model of orthopedic device infection, the vaccines worked 100-fold more effectively than much shorter-lived conventional control vaccines. Credit: Envato Elements/chormail https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2025/04/08130211/4b9ffa17-ce35-4435-855f-8c1b68be5db7-scaled.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=e8efe22d2194387a73b659b03ac0598b"/> Feyisayo (Sayo) Eweje on Helping Gene Therapies ENTER The Right Cells https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/humans-of-the-wyss-feyisayo-sayo-eweje-on-helping-gene-therapies-enter-the-right-cells/ Thu, 29 May 2025 13:00:47 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=42831 The Humans of the Wyss (HOW) series features members of the Wyss community discussing their work, the influences that shape them as professionals, and their collaborations at the Wyss Institute and beyond. Sayo Eweje loves finding solutions, whether he’s looking at a Rubik’s Cube or a technical challenge in the lab. When faced with the problem of how to impact patients at both a personal and…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/humans-of-the-wyss-feyisayo-sayo-eweje-on-helping-gene-therapies-enter-the-right-cells/ Feyisayo (Sayo) Eweje, Ph.D. Candidate in Medical Engineering and Medical Physics. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2025/05/27125023/HoW-Sayo-Eweje-07509-final-scaled.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=10677ac61363a08eb47918e764d05fd2"/> ENTERing a new era of drug delivery https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/entering-a-new-era-of-drug-delivery/ Thu, 15 May 2025 13:25:50 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=42721 Protein-based nanoparticles can effectively deliver DNA, RNA, proteins, and gene editors directly into multiple cell types while avoiding toxicity By Lindsay Brownell (BOSTON) — Getting medicines into the cells they’re designed to treat is a perennial problem for the medicine and pharmaceutical industries, and patients often suffer from side effects and ineffective treatments as a result. Current drug delivery vehicles carry a host of risks and limits: lipid nanoparticles can cause immune reactions and accumulate in the liver…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/entering-a-new-era-of-drug-delivery/ This microscopy image shows the ENTER constructs, composed of spheres of ELPs containing EEPs inside. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2025/05/13151412/Fig-1i-colorized.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=a7cce4c59204f3b724270a0925e502a4"/> Kwasi Adu-Berchie named 2024 STAT Wunderkind https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/kwasi-adu-berchie-named-2024-stat-wunderkind/ Wed, 16 Oct 2024 14:11:12 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=41197 The honor is bestowed annually on the next generation of scientific superstars By Lindsay Brownell (BOSTON) – The Wyss Institute is thrilled to announce that Kwasi Adu-Berchie, Ph.D., a member of the Wyss’ Advanced Technology Team working in Immuno-Materials Platform led by Core Faculty member Dave Mooney, Ph.D., has been named a 2024 STAT Wunderkind by STAT News. The Wunderkinds awards are given annually by STAT News to the next generation of scientific superstars who…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/kwasi-adu-berchie-named-2024-stat-wunderkind/ Kwasi Adu-Berchie https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2022/08/10092956/Kwasi-Adu-Berchie-3.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=ac2afd50b3022ac1f31a985049490116"/> DoriNano – Improved DNA Origami Nanodelivery to Fight Cancer and Other Diseases https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/dorinano-improved-dna-origami-nanodelivery-to-fight-cancer-and-other-diseases/ Fri, 04 Oct 2024 18:20:45 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?post_type=media_post&p=41135 We’re developing DNA Origami nanodelivery, which is transforming nanoparticle industry. Developed at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and the Wyss Institute at Harvard University, this innovative approach overcomes the challenges of other nanoparticles, offering stability, high drug loading capacity, nano-scale control of cargo spacing, and more – making it a highly customizable solution for…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/dorinano-improved-dna-origami-nanodelivery-to-fight-cancer-and-other-diseases/ https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2024/10/04142026/THUMBNAIL-DoriNano-Improved-DNA-Origami-Nanodelivery-to-Fight-Cancer-and-Other-Diseases_No-Text.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=25e304207f7e689f8c5435252ec1975b"/> Attivare licenses Wyss Institute’s immune-modulating biomaterial technology to advance immunotherapies https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/attivare-licenses-wyss-institutes-immune-modulating-biomaterial-technology-to-advance-immunotherapies/ Wed, 02 Oct 2024 13:20:13 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=41088 The startup is leveraging the biomaterial-based technology to develop novel therapies able to program anti-cancer immunity and prevent infectious diseases By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — Today, the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and Attivare Therapeutics Inc. announced that Attivare has licensed a portfolio of immune-modulating biomaterial technologies from Harvard University that was created at the Wyss Institute, John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS)…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/attivare-licenses-wyss-institutes-immune-modulating-biomaterial-technology-to-advance-immunotherapies/ The OMNIVAX infection vaccine approach incorporates pathogen-derived antigens into an injectable biomaterial scaffold which presents them together with immune cell attracting and activating factors to dendritic immune cells that then go on to orchestrate multi-faceted immune responses against the pathogen in nearby lymph nodes. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2020/05/20143742/MPS-Scaffold-SEM-001-e1590000157764.jpeg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=2a2fe69057d66821736f37dd19a6916a"/> Boosting CAR-T cell therapies from under the skin https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/boosting-car-t-cell-therapies-from-under-the-skin/ Wed, 12 Jun 2024 13:15:07 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=40215 T-cell stimulating biomaterial that slowly biodegrades under the skin stimulates CAR-T cells in the body to improve therapeutic efficacy in an aggressive mouse tumor model By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — CAR-T cell therapies are transforming the treatment of previously incurable blood cancers. Six approved CAR-T products have been administered to more than 20,000 people, and more than 500 clinical trials are underway. However, according to a recent study out of the Massachusetts General Hospital, among 100 patients suffering from lymphomas, myelomas or B-cell…

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