Global partnership towards a vaccine against Strep A

A new collaboration between the research arm of the Novo Nordisk Foundation Initiative for Vaccines and Immunity, NIVI Research Center, and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) aims to accelerate the development of a vaccine against Group A Streptococcus (Strep A) infection.

Strep A remains a major global health challenge, causing hundreds of millions of infections each year and highlighting the urgent need for effective vaccines.

The research partnership is led by MCRI Senior Research Officer Dr Hannah Frost and MCRI Group Leader and reNEW Melbourne Associate Investigator Dr Rhiannon Werder.

The project combines two of MCRI’s unique research strengths: the world’s only modern controlled human infection model (CHIM) for Streptococcus pyogenes pharyngitis, work that is being led by Senior Research Officer Dr Josh Osowicki and Group Leader Professor Andrew Steer, and Dr Werder’s cutting-edge induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived respiratory models.

These advanced stem-cell-derived airway systems replicate the cellular environment of the human respiratory tract and will be used alongside the CHIM platform to uncover how Strep A establishes infection and how the body mounts its earliest immune responses.

“By combining our stem-cell-derived lung models with MCRI’s unique CHIM platform, we have an unprecedented opportunity to watch the earliest moments of infection unfold,” Dr Werder said. “Those first interactions between the bacteria and the airway are where vaccine-preventable targets are likely to be found.”

Using throat swabs collected during MCRI’s upcoming M1UK CHIM study, researchers will conduct dual RNA sequencing to map, in unprecedented detail, the real-time interplay between human host cells and the invading bacteria. These insights are expected to pinpoint bacterial genes and proteins that drive colonisation and disease – potential targets for future vaccine development.

The project is jointly overseen by a dedicated working group spanning reNEW, NIVI and MCRI researchers. Data generated through the collaboration will help inform NIVI’s efforts to guide the design of next-generation vaccines targeting Strep A.

“Strep A causes hundreds of thousands of deaths globally each year, yet we still lack a vaccine,” said Director of Research Strategy and Innovation Dr Kara-Lee Aves from NIVI Research Center, University of Copenhagen.

“By understanding the biology of infection in greater detail than ever before, we’re laying the groundwork for future vaccines that could save lives worldwide.”