Could protein design stop the next pandemic?

The Institute for Protein Design (IPD) at the University of Washington is in the business of designing and creating new proteins to solve 21st-century problems in medicine and beyond - including vaccine development. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Dr. Neil King, assistant professor, and researcher at IPD, and his team kicked their years of work in this area into high gear, developing a nanoparticle used in a protein-based vaccine. This highly potent vaccine, which doesn't require refrigeration has been fully approved by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for use in individuals 18 years of age and older. 

And they’re not stopping at COVID-19 – this technology could be used to create a vaccine that could protect against a whole family of viruses, and potentially even prevent the next pandemic.

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