Akhilesh Kumar Shakya Research Areas

1. Designing of safe and effective adjuvants for new-generation vaccines

Vaccines are designed to educate our immune system to fight against microbes so that we get long-term protection. New-generation vaccines based on recombinant subunits or known chemical components are poorly immunogenic and unable to induce effective immune response without an adjuvant. Approved adjuvants for human vaccination like alum compounds for vaccination can boost up the immune response significantly, however, they usually associate with limitations of toxicities. Thus, safe, and improved adjuvants are needed to develop safe and effective vaccines. Under this perspective, we are designing biocompatible polymeric adjuvants for new-generation vaccines.

2. Micro- and Nano-therapeutics for Autoimmune disorders

Autoimmune diseases are multi-factorial complex disorders which are characterized by chronic inflammation that leads to the progressive depletion of the localized tissues. The prevalence of autoimmune diseases is around 1% worldwide and it is steadily increasing. As of today, there is no permanent cure available for their treatment. However, consequential pain and inflammation are temporarily managed by medications such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, and anti-metabolite drugs. These drugs are nonspecific and usually have severe side effects. So, the goal is to persistently achieve the lowest level of inflammation with minimum side effects. We are developing novel micro- and nano-therapeutics for safe and effective treatment of autoimmune disorders.