The University of Houston's Navin Varadarajan explains that while COVID vaccines prevent advanced disease, they don’t prevent transmission. But he has a solution. Photo via Getty Images

Since the force of COVID-19 hit globally in 2020, scientists have made efficient progress in the fight against it. As Dr. Navin Varadarajan puts it, vaccines have “allowed us to become a society again.”

And he should know, the M.D. Anderson Professor of William A. Brookshire Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at University of Houston just published back-to-back studies for nasal sprays that combat viruses. One, the NanoSTING therapeutic, has proven effective in treating strains of SARS-CoV-2 and the flu virus. The other, NanoSTING-NS Pan-coronavirus Vaccine is targeted at preventing the transmission of multiple COVID variants altogether.

Why a nasal vaccine? Varadarajan explains that while COVID vaccines prevent advanced disease, they don’t prevent transmission.

“Intramuscular vaccines do not facilitate a component of peer immunity called mucosal immunity, which takes care of these points of entries, these wet surfaces, which can be of the nose and the wet surfaces of the nose, and so they don't prevent transmission,” he tells InnovationMap. “So I can be vaccinated, I pick up a small infection that's confined largely to my nostrils, and I can still pass it on to vulnerable people, the aged, the immunocompromised people who have all the drugs they're taking to fight other things, like cancer patients. And so for them, the vaccines tend to be less efficacious, and if I transfer it to them, unfortunately they can end up in a hospital, right? And so preventing transmission is the way to end this cycle.”

Dr. Navin Varadarajan is the M.D. Anderson Professor of William A. Brookshire Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at University of Houston. Photo via UH.edu

The NanoSTING-NS is also notable for its potential ability to end what Varadarajan calls “the endless cycle of boosting.” The way to do that, he explains, is to prevent the infection at its root. And theoretically, his lab’s invention could do that. But he cautions readers not to get too excited just yet.

The vaccine is currently in the phase of animal testing, though Varadarajan is hopeful that it could move to human samples in about a year.

The therapeutic can treat multiple respiratory viruses by using fat droplets to deliver the immune booster cGAMP.

“The ability to activate the innate immune system presents an attractive route to armoring humans against multiple respiratory viruses, viral variants and also minimizing transmission to vulnerable people,” says postdoctoral associate Ankita Leekha, first author on the paper that shares NanoSTING’s findings. “The advantage of NanoSTING is that only one dose is required, unlike the antivirals like Tamiflu that require 10 doses.”

Ankita Leekha is the first author on the paper that shares NanoSTING’s findings. Photo via UH.edu

Varadarajan puts it even more simply: “Just like we have Tylenol, just like you take aspirin, you feel like you have some symptoms, and you take it afterwards.”

Currently, he says that the partners with whom the lab is working towards commercialization are prioritizing the therapeutic over the vaccine. The reasons are clear. Varadarajan explains that, while we’ve now long had antibiotics to broadly combat infections, there hasn’t been anything like that to battle viruses. With its ability to target multiple viruses, NanoSTING could be that innovation.

“We activate the innate immune system. So our drug is not virus-specific. Our drug works by activating your own immune system, and that will then fight off different kinds of viruses,” he says.

A single product that treats everything from the common cold to COVID-19 by capitalizing on the patient’s own immune system could be closer than we realize.

The researchers hope to get the vaccine into human trials soon. Photo via UH.edu

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Mark Cuban calls AI ‘the greater democratizer’ for young entrepreneurs

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Texas billionaire Mark Cuban—whose investment portfolio includes Houston-based Holliball, a startup that makes and sells large inflatable holiday ornaments—believes AI is leveling the playing field for budding low-income entrepreneurs.

At the recent Clover x Shark Tank Summit in Las Vegas, the Shark Tank alum called AI “the greater democratizer.”

Cuban told Axios that free and low-cost AI tools enable disadvantaged teenagers to compete with seasoned professionals.

“Right now, if you’re a 14- to 18-year-old and you’re in not-so-good circumstances, you have access to the best professors and the best consultants,” Cuban said. “It allows people who otherwise would not have access to any resources to have access to the best resources in real time. You can compete with anybody.”

While Cuban believes AI is “the great democratizer” for low-income young people, low-income workers still face hurdles in navigating the AI landscape, according to Public Works Partners, an urban planning and consulting firm. The firm says access to AI among low-income workers may be limited due to cost, insufficient digital literacy and infrastructure gaps.

“Without adequate resources and training, these workers may struggle to adapt to AI-driven workplaces or access the educational opportunities necessary to acquire new skills,” Public Works Partners said.

Texas 2036, a public policy organization focused on the state’s future, reported in January AI jobs in Texas are projected to grow 27 percent over the next decade. The number 2036 refers to the year when Texas will celebrate its bicentennial.

As for the current state of AI, Cuban said he doesn’t think the economy is witnessing an AI bubble comparable to the dot-com bubble, which lasted from 1998 to 2000.

“The difference is, the improvement in technology basically slowed to a trickle,” Cuban said of the dot-com era. “We’re nowhere near the improvement in technology slowing to a trickle in AI.”

CPRIT hires MD Anderson official as chief cancer prevention officer

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The Austin-based Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, which provides funding for cancer research across the state, has hired Ruth Rechis as its chief prevention officer. She comes to CPRIT from Houston’s University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where she led the Cancer Prevention and Control Platform.

Before joining MD Anderson, Rechis was a member of the executive leadership team at the Livestrong Foundation, an Austin-based nonprofit that supports people affected by cancer.

“Ruth has widespread connections throughout the cancer prevention community, both in Texas and across the nation,” CPRIT CEO Kristen Doyle said in a news release. “She is a long-term passionate supporter of CPRIT, and she is very familiar with our process, programs, and commitment to transparency. Ruth is a terrific addition to the team here at CPRIT.”

Rechis said that by collaborating with researchers, policymakers, public health leaders and community partners, CPRIT “can continue to drive forward proven prevention strategies that improve health outcomes, lower long-term costs, and create healthier futures for all.”

At MD Anderson, Rechis and her team worked with more than 100 organizations in Texas to bolster cancer prevention initiatives at clinics and community-based organizations.

Rechis is a longtime survivor of Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects the lymph nodes, which are part of a person’s immune system.