The disease burden associated with dengue virus infection has increased over the past several decades in the tropical and semi-tropical regions of the world, where over 2 billion people live at risk of dengue infection. Annually, there are an estimated fifty (50) to one hundred (100) million cases of dengue fever, making development of an effective vaccine a priority. In addition, there is a need for a "travelers vaccine" to protect those visiting dengue virus endemic areas, similar in scope to other currently available "travelers vaccines", such as hepatitis A vaccine.

Since the onset of the AIDS epidemic more than two decades ago, enormous efforts have been directed to making a vaccine that will protect against human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV); an effective vaccine is thought to require the induction of cellular and humoral responses. Vaccine candidates have included a variety of HIV immunogens delivered as DNA, attenuated poxviruses, adenoviruses, vesicular stomatitis virus, proteins, and various combinations thereof. The inventors' efforts to design an HIV vaccine have focused on modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) as a vector.

Over the past decade, Staphylococcus epidermidis has become the most prevalent pathogen involved in nosocomial infections. Usually an innocuous commensal microorganism on human skin, this member of the coagulase-negative group of staphylococci can cause severe infection after penetration of the epidermal protective barriers of the human body. In the U.S. alone, S. epidermidis infections on in-dwelling medical devices, which represent the main type of infection with S. epidermidis, cost the public health system approximately $1 billion per year. Importantly, S.

Concerns that variola (smallpox) virus might be used as a biological weapon have led to the recommendation of widespread vaccination with vaccinia virus. While vaccination is generally safe and effective for prevention of smallpox, it is well documented that various adverse reactions in individuals have been caused by vaccination with existing licensed vaccines. Vaccinia immune globulin (VIG) prepared from vaccinated humans has historically been used to treat adverse reactions arising from vaccinia immunization.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia among infants and children under 1 year of age. Illness begins most frequently with fever, runny nose, cough, and sometimes wheezing. During their first RSV infection, between 25% and 40% of infants and young children have signs or symptoms of bronchiolitis or pneumonia, and 0.5% to 2% require hospitalization. Most children recover from illness in 8 to 15 days. The majority of children hospitalized for RSV infection are under 6 months of age.

The four dengue virus (DENV) serotypes (DENV-1 to DENV-4) are the most important arthropod-borne flaviviruses in terms of morbidity and geographic distribution. Up to 100 million DENV infections occur every year, mostly in tropical and subtropical areas where vector mosquitoes are abundant. Infection with any of the DENV serotypes may be asymptomatic or may lead to classic dengue fever or more severe dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS), which are increasingly common in the dengue endemic areas.

Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen that colonizes and infects oculogenital mucosal surfaces. The organism exists as multiple serovariants that infect millions of people worldwide. Ocular infections cause trachoma, a chronic follicular conjunctivitis that results in scarring and blindness. The World Health Organization estimates that 300–500 million people are afflicted by trachoma, making it the most prevalent form of infectious preventable blindness.

Exposed collagen in injured blood vessels provides a substrate for platelets to adhere and aggregate initiating the first step in thrombosis, the formation of blood clots inside a blood vessel. Despite the essential role of platelets in vascular injury, excessive platelet aggregation may also result in thrombotic diseases such as stroke and heart attack.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection causes chronic liver disease and is a major global health problem with an estimated 170 million people affected worldwide and 3-4 million new cases every year. Therapeutic advances will be greatly aided by the ability of researchers to successfully replicate and characterize the virus in vitro. The study of HCV replication has, however, been hindered by the lack of an efficient virus culture system.

T lymphocytes play an important role in the immune system by recognizing foreign protein motifs on cells. T lymphocytes are stimulated to recognize these motifs through their interactions with peptide-MHC complexes (pMHC). Thus, studying pMHC is an important aspect of understanding how the immune system works, particularly with regard to the development of vaccines. Unfortunately, the detection of pMHC is largely dependent on indirect assays, due to the difficulty of producing antibodies for specific pMHC.