Tulane University immunologist Elizabeth B. Norton, PhD, has received a $1.6 million grant from the Gates Foundation to develop a next-generation oral vaccine against polio.

The award will fund Norton’s research into a new vaccine formulated with a novel combination adjuvant developed at Tulane in partnership with Q-Vant Biosciences. The vaccine would be taken orally, using either a liquid or fast-dissolving tablet formulation. The adjuvant system combines material derived from a soapbark tree with a modified bacterial protein in order to guide vaccine components through gut tissue and trigger the right amount of immune activation to develop immunity to the polio virus.

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