[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/7310\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EWe ultimately should be able to make a pan-coronavirus vaccine, says theoretical epidemiologist \u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Gupta was speaking on a digital panel at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research-innovation-days.ec.europa.eu\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EEuropean Research and Innovation Days\u003C\/a\u003E on 22 September along with other scientists to discuss how they\u2019re steering their frontier research areas to address challenges brought on by the pandemic.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Gupta said her work for the past 25-30 years focusing on a theory of how pathogens evolve, in particular those that exist in multiple strains such as influenza, put her team in a good place to study the coronavirus.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHer group has developed models to better understand coronavirus from the limited data available, from how deadly it is \u2013 work which drew attention in the UK in March for \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2020\/jun\/07\/immunological-dark-matter-does-it-exist-coronavirus-population-immunity\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Esuggesting lower infection fatality rate\u003C\/a\u003Es \u2013 to determining the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.medrxiv.org\/content\/10.1101\/2020.07.15.20154294v1\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Ethreshold of herd immunity\u003C\/a\u003E. They\u2019re looking at how many people are likely to be immune and at what rates of seropositivity \u2013 where antibodies show up in the blood of people exposed to coronavirus \u2013 can reveal.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHer team is developing lab tests to look for coronavirus antibodies to study how many people have been exposed to the virus and also whether other coronaviruses confer protection against it.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Gupta\u2019s work on the evolution of influenza antigens \u2013 substances that provoke an immune system response \u2013 has been key to her coronavirus work. Her team came up with a new way of making a vaccine that covers a diversity of strains by \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41467-018-06228-8#:~:text=The%20identification%20of%20epitopes%20of,against%20newly%20emerging%20influenza%20strains.\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Eidentifying influenza epitopes\u003C\/a\u003E, the part of antigens that attach to molecules, with limited variability.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It\u0027s like saying influenza may have lots of hats, but it only has four shirts,\u2019 she said. Their technology has been \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.zoo.ox.ac.uk\/article\/oxford-university-signs-universal-flu-vaccine-development-deal-us-startup-bwv\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Elicensed to develop a universal flu vaccine\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo use this analogy, coronaviruses have a more limited wardrobe.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Each coronavirus kind of sticks to its own wardrobe,\u2019 said Prof. Gupta. \u2018It doesn\u0027t have the luxury, like flu, of saying: \u201cOkay, tomorrow I\u0027m going to wear the red shirt.\u201d It just can\u0027t do that. So that\u0027s quite useful (for) making a vaccine.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018This is why I feel \u2013 have confidence \u2013 that we will be able to produce a vaccine towards this virus because it\u0027s not going to suddenly turn around and change and be antigenically very different. So at that level, it\u0027s much more like measles than flu.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EImmunity\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUnlike measles, lifelong immunity is unlikely. \u2018With coronaviruses you tend to lose immunity and get re-infected every three or four years,\u2019 Prof. Gupta said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen it comes to epitopes of limited variability, it\u2019s likely that the four currently circulating coronaviruses have some \u2018clothes\u2019 in common, Prof. Gupta said. \u2018Each coronavirus has its own wardrobe, but there are common bits that they share within their wardrobes.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Gupta hopes the pipeline they\u2019ve established can be used in the future to make a pan-coronavirus vaccine, she said. \u2018That\u0027s one thing that we are quite seriously pursuing.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut, she suggests, vaccine research is likely to get harder in the future.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I always teach my students that the vaccines that we have are the low hanging fruit on the vaccine tree. They are where we\u0027ve been able to mimic natural immunity,\u2019 said Prof. Gupta. \u2018And they\u0027re also the ones that induce very strong natural immunity, and long-lasting natural immunity, like measles, mumps, rubella.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGiven coronavirus\u2019 relatively short immune response, she says that we want a vaccine that gives enough immunity to stop people from dying and helps the immune system keep them alive in case of reinfection. \u2018So I think that\u2019s the goal.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGlobal challenges\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe annual research event held on 22-24 September brings together scientists, policymakers, entrepreneurs and members of the public and is based out of Brussels, Belgium. The ERC panel was one of two showcasing the value of curiosity-driven fundamental research to respond to global challenges.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFollowing the panel, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/horizon-magazine.eu\/article\/next-gen-nanoscopes-can-take-super-resolution-images-atomic-world-dr-singh-ahluwalia.html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EProfessor Balpreet Singh Ahluwalia\u003C\/a\u003E at the Arctic University of Norway, and ERC-grantee, told Horizon that researchers globally are doing their part to address the pandemic. But, for him, the crisis highlights how frontier research is quickly able to adapt to address problems. This type of research is more important than ever, he says, and he \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sciencebusiness.net\/framework-programmes\/news\/meps-face-slim-odds-reversing-cut-horizon-europe-budget\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Ehopes that funding is not cut.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Frontier research does not prepare us for one problem. It prepares us for unseen problems,\u2019 he said, explaining that an application for research may only become evident in the future.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHis research focuses on affordable photonic chip-enabled nanoscopy \u2013 in other words he works on making microscopes super-resolution (able to image things smaller than 200nm) while bringing down the cost.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECurrent super-resolution microscopes \u2013 the technology that earned a 2014 Nobel prize \u2013 can cost close to \u20ac500,000 and need to be housed in a special facility, while regular or fluorescence microscopes can image to about 200nm and cost between \u20ac20,000-50,000, he said. And that\u2019s not good enough for the coronavirus, which is about 150 to 200nm.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen the pandemic hit, he and researchers from Norway and Germany collaborated on an \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.biorxiv.org\/content\/10.1101\/2020.09.04.283085v1.full\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Eopen access microscope\u003C\/a\u003E that would be small enough to use in a biosafety cabinet to make images or videos of the coronavirus. They combined a laser-printed microscope controlled by a mobile phone with a photonic chip for super resolution to make a nanoscope that costs about \u20ac1,000. Prof. Ahluwalia said their microscope is now being used by researchers in Germany and could be used in diagnostics in the future. \u2018(Coronavirus) has to be addressed globally, so a technology has to be with a price tag which can be globally affordable.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018Frontier research does not prepare us for one problem. It prepares us for unseen problems.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProf. Balpreet Singh Ahluwalia, Arctic University of Norway\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBlue-sky research\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt an R\u0026amp;I days panel on 23 September, Nobel and Kavli prize laureates discussed the role of this type of basic or so-called blue-sky research in both the current coronavirus response and in helping us prepare for an uncertain future. They spoke about the lack of data to understand the economic implications of the pandemic on society\u2019s poorest, whether we\u2019re due for a great reset and why coronavirus should not eclipse other great challenges.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKavli prize laureate and astronomer Professor Ewine van Dishoeck,\u0026nbsp;said that research is about going into the unknown, and this approach is important for training young scientists to be independent, creative thinkers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe major challenges of today, from climate change to the pandemic, require us to take a step back and look at them from the systems level, she said. And fundamental discoveries and technologies are there to be developed through curious thinking into solutions, she said, citing how \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/science\/articles\/2015\/03\/05\/4183467.htm\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EWiFi\u003C\/a\u003E, for example, emerged from astronomy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs science plays an increasingly visible role in our lives, Nobel prize laureate \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/horizon-magazine.eu\/article\/nobel-prize-winner-oxygen-regulation-discoveries-are-starting-lead-new-anaemia-cancer-drugs\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003ESir Peter Ratcliffe\u003C\/a\u003E wants to see frontier research become more persuasive and for the broader public to better understand how it works. For him, education is key in fostering scientific literacy within wider society to understand how scientific knowledge is created and not be suspicious of it.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I would like to see a greater emphasis in history (lessons), on teaching history through science, and in science (lessons), teaching science through history,\u2019 he said. \u2018At that point I believe I would be much more persuasive to the general public in articulating \u2026 how knowledge will be used in an unexpected way to create valuable, new knowledge. I think that\u2019s the single most important point that we have to get across.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-e0-a5qgcdl0kbtdmkst6yq7uapij2iydocyihle1j0\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-_E0-A5qgcdl0KbtDmKst6yQ7uApIJ2IyDOCyIhLE1j0\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]