Meredith Jackrel, assistant professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, and her lab group study protein misfolding disorders. They are especially interested in how protein misfolding occurs, how it leads to disease and how scientists might be able to prevent or even reverse protein misfolding. Their work promises applications in flu vaccines as well as in the current coronavirus pandemic.
“We are working on the development of new vaccine technologies specifically tailored to elderly populations. We originally initiated this project to evaluate new flu vaccine technologies, but this approach could also be relevant to COVID-19 since seniors are particularly susceptible to its severe complications”, Jackrel stated during an interview.