Sergio A. Rodriguez Aponte (TIDOR & LOVE LABS)

A Low-cost COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate

The supply of COVID-19 vaccine doses still lags behind the global demand for first-time vaccination and booster doses. Worldwide distribution of vaccine doses has been far from equitable, given the steep prices and logistical challenges that low- and middle-income countries face. I will present the development of a second-generation SARS-CoV-2 protein subunit vaccine candidate. We use protein engineering to enhance this candidate’s manufacturability, enabling global-scale manufacturing and distribution for LMICs.

Miguel Alcantar (COLLINS LAB)

Combinatorial Chromatin Regulator Libraries to Engineer Eukaryotic Transcriptional Regulation

Gene expression in eukaryotes is largely regulated by chromatin regulators (CRs), which modulate the biochemical and biophysical properties of chromatin. The effects of individual CRs on gene expression have been well-characterized in model eukaryotes; however, the expression states obtained by recruiting multiple CRs to specific genetic loci are not well understood. We propose a high-throughput approach to elucidate how CR combinations result in many gene expression behaviors, which can be used for engineering sophisticated genetic circuits.