With cases on the rise, researchers are aiming to develop a “one-two punch” vaccine strategy against pertussis, more commonly known as whooping cough.  This work could ultimately help reduce transmission of the disease and combat the threat of resistant bacteria mutating into stronger, more lethal “superbugs.” 

The project aims to improve upon current vaccines by not only neutralizing whooping cough symptoms, as available vaccines do, but also destroying the bacterium behind the illness. 

Led by Michigan State’s Xuefei Huang and Ohio State’s Rajendar Deora, the land grant collaboration is supported by the National Institutes of Health.  

“If you think of bacteria as criminals, they’re very good at masking themselves from our immune system,” Huang said, an MSU Foundation Professor in the departments of Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering, and the Institute for Quantitative Health Science & Engineering.