What's in my adenovirus vaccine?

The adenovirus-based vaccine is a type of vaccine that uses a surrogate virus instead of the actual coronavirus to deliver the components needed to induce an immune response. When the adenovirus infects your cells, it will release DNA coding that your cells can use to produce the spike protein. The spike protein – a harmless piece of the coronavirus – will train your immune response to protect you from getting infected/sick if you later encounter the actual virus. In addition to adding the coronavirus DNA, scientists also remove portions of the adenovirus essential for replication; thus, each virus can only infect one cell and cannot make copies of itself. Engineering the adenovirus further enhances the safety of the vaccine.... Click the infographic to learn more!

Faculty Spotlight: Chandravanu Dash, Ph.D.

Dr. Dash is a faculty member in the Meharry Medical College Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research (CAHDR) and the Department of Biochemistry, Cancer Biology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience. His research focuses on understanding the mechanisms of HIV-1 infection and probing the effects of drugs of abuse on HIV pathogenesis.

Graduate Student Spotlight: Ireti Eni-aganga

Ireti Eni-aganga received her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Arizona State University in 2014. She's currently a PhD candidate at Meharry Medical College in the laboratory of Dr. Jui Pandhare. Her work is part of the Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research (CAHDR)... Click the image on the left to continue reading.

Faculty Spotlight: Matt Alexander, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Alexander earned his undergraduate degree from Duke University and his M.D./Ph.D. from the University of Virginia School of Medicine. He's an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Molecular Physiology & Biophysics at Vanderbilt researching the role of adaptive immunity in the pathogenesis of hypertension and associated cardiovascular disease... Click Dr. Alexander's photo to continue reading.