Title: Nanovaccines for infectious diseases delivered via microneedle patches

Biography:

Martin D Souza has obtained his PhD degree from the University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA. He is a Professor and Director of Graduate Programs in the College of Pharmacy at Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia. He also serves as the Director of Mercer Clinical Laboratory and Co-Director of the Center for Drug Delivery Research. He has graduated over 50 PhD students and has published over 100 manuscripts. He has been the recipient of several research grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the American Diabetes Association, the Georgia Cancer Coalition, and Georgia Research Alliance. He serves on several Editorial Boards and is a journal reviewer for over 10 scientific journals and has several patents issued in the area of Nanotechnology

Abstract

The D'Souza Vaccine Nanotechnology Laboratory at Mercer's College of Pharmacy has been working on the design and delivery of microparticulate vaccines for cancer and infectious diseases. This presentation will highlight the triumphs and tribulations of this rather innovative, in-expensive and painless method of vaccine delivery using microneedle technology. Our patented technology is rather broad based and can be use to administer multiple vaccines using several routes such as oral; transdermal, including microneedle and laser ablation techniques. We have been working on particulate vaccines for 1] several cancer vaccines such as ovarian b) melanoma  c) prostate and d) breast cancer vaccines; 2) vaccines for infectious diseases such as a) universal influenza, b) HPV, c)  RSV, d) meningitis, e) gonorrhea, and f) measles vaccines. In this presentation, the results of these vaccine prototypes will be discussed. The vaccine antigen was formulated in bio-degradable and bio-compatible matrices to prepare nano particles or microparticles using a spray dryer. The results of these studies will be discussed.