Armira Azuar

Dr. Armira Azuar


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

5Years (2022-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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8 April 2022 in Vaccines
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
Christopher McMillanChristopher McMillan
Christopher McMillan
AAArmira Azuar
Armira Azuar
JCJovin Choo
Jovin Choo
NMNaphak Modhiran
Naphak Modhiran
Alberto Anastacio AmarillaAlberto Anastacio Amarilla
Alberto Anastacio Amarilla
DMDavid Muller
David Muller
The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to disrupt essential health services in 90 percent of countries today. The spike (S) protein found on the surface of the causative agent, the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has been the prime target for current vaccine research since antibodies directed against the S protein were found to neutralize the virus. However, as new variants emerge, mutations within the spike protein have given rise to potential immune evasion of the response generated by the current generation of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. In this study, a modified, HexaPro S protein subunit vaccine, delivered using a needle-free high-density microarray patch (HD-MAP), was investigated for its immunogenicity and virus-neutralizing abilities. Mice given two doses of the vaccine candidate generated potent antibody responses capable of neutralizing the parental SARS-CoV-2 virus as well as the variants of concern, Alpha and Delta. These results demonstrate that this alternative vaccination strategy has the potential to mitigate the effect of emerging viral variants.