The UT-Austin chemistry lab’s essential work has been used in various coronavirus vaccines, and even in vaccines meant to combat respiratory syncytial virus
AUSTIN, Texas — Since COVID-19 first started taking the world by hostage in late 2019, scientists across the globe have been working nonstop to unlock the virus’ mysteries and to provide a blueprint for battling the contagious disease.
And some of the best work in the world on this front has been taking place inside a lab at the University of Texas at Austin.
“I wanted to go into science — and specifically this field — to try to contribute to vaccine development, to hopefully make or contribute to a vaccine that would one day be used,” said Dr. Jason McLellan on this week’s episode of Y’all-itics. “Yeah, to have our technology incorporated into all these different vaccines — it’s more than five vaccines, it’s a career high — it’s really exciting.”
Dr. McLellan holds the Robert A. Welch Chair in chemistry at UT-Austin, where he also serves as a professor of molecular biology.
Now, the technology he and his team have developed is being used both in vaccines against RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), which is especially dangerous to children and seniors, and in the leading vaccines against COVID-19.
If you thought the development of a COVID-19 vaccine was fast, Dr. McLellan says that, because of the work they’ve done, they’ll be able to do it much quicker in the future — even through means like delivering vaccines through a patch.
“The goals now are to try to go from genome sequence of a virus to manufactured vaccine in 100 days,” he said. “It’s about three months rather than 10. So, maybe in the future, you have a coronavirus emerge in Southeast Asia, you need a couple of months of masking and social distancing, and then everybody can get the vaccine that’s tailored specifically for that virus.”
Even though he works with some dangerous material inside his lab, Dr. McLellan told the Jasons that’s not even what truly scares him.
“What keeps me up at night mostly is the anti-vax and the misinformation campaign,” he said. “That’s actually most scary and deleterious to human health. If we had a similar sentiment and vaccine skepticism 50 years ago, we might not have eradicated smallpox, or polio. So, it’s really unnerving.”
Interestingly enough, Dr. McLellan actually put in a grant to the National Institutes of Health in 2017 in an effort to develop a universal coronavirus vaccine.
Think about that for a second: That would have been three years before the pandemic even started.
But McLellan now smiles when talking about how the effort was doomed.
“That did not receive very good scores,” he said. “And the reviewer comments, you know, indicated that this work was not particularly impactful, coronavirus outbreaks are regionally contained to where they first emerged. So, that was fun.”
McLellan even tweeted a screen shot of that rejection. No surprise, then: It since has become one his most liked tweets.
Be sure to listen to the rest of this fascinating conversation with one of the world’s most important scientists in this episode of Y’all-itics.
Majaribio ya maabara ya kemia ya UT-Austin yametumika katika chanjo mbalimbali za virusi vya corona, na hata katika chanjo zinazolenga kupambana na virusi vya kupumua vya syncytial, tangu COVID-19 ilipoanza kuchukua ulimwengu kama mateka mwishoni mwa 2019, wanasayansi duniani kote wamekuwa wakifanya kazi bila kuacha kufungua siri za virusi na kutoa muundo wa kupambana na ugonjwa huo. Kazi bora zaidi duniani katika suala hili imekuwa ikifanyika ndani ya maabara katika Chuo Kikuu cha Texas huko Austin. "Nilitaka kuingia katika sayansi na hasa uwanja huu kujaribu kuchangia maendeleo ya chanjo, kwa matumaini ya kutengeneza au kuchangia chanjo ambayo siku moja itatumiwa", alisema Dk Jason McLellan katika kipindi cha wiki hii cha Y-all-itics. "Kwa kuwa teknolojia yetu imeingizwa katika chanjo hizi zote tofauti, ni zaidi ya chanjo tano, ni kazi ya juu, ni ya kusisimua sana. ""Daktari McLellan anashikilia kiti cha Robert A. Welch katika kemia katika UT-Austin, ambapo pia anatumikia kama profesa wa biolojia ya molekuli." Teknolojia hiyo imetumiwa katika chanjo dhidi ya RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), ambayo ni hatari hasa kwa watoto na wazee, na katika chanjo za kuongoza dhidi ya COVID-19. "Ikiwa ulidhani maendeleo ya chanjo ya COVID-19 yalikuwa ya haraka, Dk McLellan anasema kwamba, kwa sababu ya kazi waliyofanya, wataweza kufanya hivyo haraka zaidi katika siku zijazo, hata kupitia njia kama kutoa chanjo kupitia patch. """ "Lengo sasa ni kujaribu kwenda kutoka kwa mfululizo wa genome ya virusi hadi chanjo ya kutengenezwa katika siku 100,"" alisema." Ni kuhusu miezi mitatu badala ya kumi. "Kwa hivyo, labda katika siku zijazo, utapata coronavirus kutokea katika Asia ya Kusini Mashariki, unahitaji miezi michache ya kufunika na umbali wa kijamii, na kisha kila mtu anaweza kupata chanjo ambayo imeundwa maalum kwa virusi hivyo. ""Hata ingawa anafanya kazi na vifaa hatari ndani ya maabara yake, Dk McLellan aliwaambia Jason kwamba sio hata kile kinachomtia hofu kweli." "Kiliyoendelea kunifanya nisikate usingizi usiku ni kampeni ya kupinga chanjo na habari zisizo sahihi", alisema. <unk>Hiyo ni kweli zaidi ya kutisha na hatari kwa afya ya binadamu. Kama tungekuwa na hisia kama hizo na kutilia shaka chanjo miaka 50 iliyopita, huenda hatungekuwa tumekomesha ugonjwa wa ndui au polio. "Kwa hivyo, ni ""kushtua sana"" - kwa kweli, Dr. McLellan alitoa ruzuku kwa Taasisi ya Kitaifa ya Afya mnamo 2017 katika juhudi za kuendeleza chanjo ya coronavirus ya ulimwengu." Fikiria juu ya hilo kwa sekunde: Hiyo ingekuwa miaka mitatu kabla ya janga hilo hata kuanza. Lakini sasa McLellan anatabasamu anapozungumza jinsi jitihada hizo zilivyoangamizwa. "Hiyo haikupata alama nzuri sana", alisema. "Na maoni ya mhakiki, unajua, yalionyesha kwamba kazi hii haikuwa na athari maalum, milipuko ya coronavirus imefungwa kikanda kwa mahali ambapo ilitokea kwanza. """ Kwa hiyo, hiyo ilikuwa ya kufurahisha. <unk> McLellan hata tweeted screenshot ya kukataliwa kwamba. Hakuna mshangao, basi: Tangu wakati huo imekuwa moja ya tweets zake zinazopendwa zaidi. Hakikisha kusikiliza mapumziko ya mazungumzo haya ya kuvutia na mmoja wa wanasayansi muhimu zaidi duniani katika kipindi hiki cha Y-all-itics.