It’s the rapid evolution of viruses that catches us off guard.
Sometimes, we have to fight fire with fire. How can we fight evolution with evolution?
One approach is to break evolution down into a model. We can build computer algorithms based off of biological evolution, and predict a virus’ next move far in advance. With this information, we can arm ourselves with long-lasting proactive vaccines.
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has shed light on the gravity of our current healthcare situation - there are significant gaps in global pandemic preparedness. Although wide-scale measures like social distancing reduces the mortality caused by a pandemic, these protocols are not always followed, and can cause social and economic havoc. VPRE is our solution to mitigate the consequences of this and future pandemics. Using our software tool to inform more effective vaccine development, we can protect both individual livelihoods and humanity as a whole.
Being able to predict viral evolution gives us a head start in vaccine development. mRNA vaccines are a new advancement, but already the data suggests that they are just as or more effective than traditional vaccines, and cheaper and faster to produce. We envision a future in which virus populations are monitored and used to train VPRE's predictive software, and in which VPRE could warn and guide vaccine development against dangerous strains that are likely to arise. See the society page for more information.
Our software tool leverages a deep learning encoder and Gaussian regression analysis to model viral evolution, and more traditional bioinformatic analyses to assess the predicted viral mRNA. Explore what our software can do at our tool's website, or learn more about it in the 'VPRE' tab.