Hua Wang (RBTE), a professor of Materials Science and Engineering, and his research group are passionate about developing novel – but simple – solutions to not only improve the efficacy of cancer immunotherapies, but also to look ahead to clinical translation.

Since the inception of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, its slogan has been “where science meets society.” This highlights the institute’s deep commitment both past and present to communicate the research and discoveries happening at the IGB with the public, and promote scientific thinking to encourage a new diverse generation of scientists and science-informed citizens. “We established a comprehensive outreach program within a few years of opening the IGB, for several reasons,” said IGB Director Gene Robinson (GNDP).

The influenza virus, which causes the flu, is a major public health issue, infecting millions of people and estimated to cost $10 billion in direct medical costs in the United States each year. Like most viruses, influenza mutates rapidly as it spreads, making it difficult to vaccinate against every possible strain. Every year there is a massive effort to determine which strains will likely be the most prevalent, in order to make a vaccine that offers the best protection for that season.

Hua Wang (RBTE), a Materials Science and Engineering assistant professor, was recently awarded a 2.26M Research Project grant from the National Cancer Institute, which will support the development of type 1 conventional dendritic cells (cDC1) targeted cancer vaccines and cytokine therapies through the integration of immune cell homing materials and metabolic glycan labeling.

Vaccine passports strike the right balance between letting life go on for those who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 while still being realistic about the ongoing public health crisis in the U.S., said Jacob S. Sherkow, a professor of law at Illinois and bioethics expert.

Students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who have not yet been vaccinated against COVID-19 can enroll in a study to help understand the effectiveness of vaccines in reducing the spread of the coronavirus. Participants will be paid and could receive the vaccine as soon as April 1.