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Contact amyount@hawaii.edu for Zoom information.

Isabelle E. Yazel Eiser
M.S. Student
Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology
John A. Burns School of Medicine
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Recombinant proteins have been used in research and medical applications for decades with some notable uses including the Hepatitis B, Herpes Zoster, and COVID-19 vaccines. Medicinal use of these proteins requires reproducible, standardized, and consistent protein production which can be achieved through cell-based expression systems and affinity chromatography. We are investigating the production of recombinant subunit proteins for SARS-CoV-2, Nipah Virus, and Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus using Drosophila S2 cell lines and purification using affinity and tag-less immunoaffinity methods. This research allows for production of antigens for serological surveillance of multiple diseases, monitoring of immunogenicity and efficacy of newly developed vaccines, and recombinant subunit protein vaccine production to combat new and evolving viral diseases and could be used for the generation of other, purpose-engineered vaccine antigens.