Vaccine science and adjuvant design by nucleic acids

Prof. Ishii describes Japan’s major investment in vaccine R&D following the UK’s 100-day mission, leading to the creation of flagship centers such as the University of Tokyo’s program under Yoshihiro Kawaoka. His own work focuses on innovative vaccine modalities, including extracellular vesicle (EV)-based vaccines and nanoparticle analysis from breath samples to monitor immune responses. He also led development of a comprehensive adjuvant database that integrates toxicogenomics, enabling machine learning predictions of adjuvanticity and safety; this effort even rediscovered colchicine as a known T-cell–stimulating adjuvant. He emphasizes that achieving rapid pandemic response requires scientific collaboration, transparency, and public engagement alongside regulatory and manufacturing readiness.