Henry Daniell, a professor of biochemistry in the School of Dental Medicine at Penn State University, has developed a vaccine using plant-based materials that could complement the current polio vaccine. In a new study funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that he coauthored with colleagues from the FDA and CDC, Daniell describes how his new vaccine, which “incorporates a gene of interest into its DNA and then produces the associated protein in its leaves,” targets viral protein 1 (VP1), a protein that is present in all three serotypes of the polio virus. Using mice infected with polio, Daniell administered his groundbreaking vaccine and discovered it could neutralize all three serotypes of polio. Daniell believes that his development could help reliably—and inexpensively—eradicate polio globally.

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