LLU&MC Scope Autumn 2000

Loma Linda University professor invited to write article for Scientific American

The September, 2000, issue of Scientific American contains an article titled "Edible Vaccines." William H. R. Langridge, PhD, professor of biochemistry, School of Medicine, and a researcher at the Loma Linda University Center for Molecular Biology and Gene Therapy, was invited by the magazine to write an article bringing readers up to date on the latest research with edible vaccines.

In his article, Dr. Langridge states, "By the late 1990s an international campaign to immunize all the world's children against six devastating diseases was reportedly reaching 80 percent of infants (up from about 5 percent in the mid-1970s) and was reducing the annual death toll from those infections by roughly 3 million."

"Yet these victories mask tragic gaps in delivery. The 20 percent of infants still missed by the six vaccines—against diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), polio, measles, tetanus, and tuberculosis—account for about 2 million unnecessary deaths each year, especially in the most remote and impoverished parts of the globe."

Dr. Langridge's research efforts have centered on two aspects of edible vaccines: using them to vaccinate against cholera and other infectious diseases, and using them to desensitize the body against autoantigens such as those associated with juvenile (type 1) diabetes.

He has received major grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (JDF) for his research of plant-based vaccines against autoimmune diseases, and the National Medical Test Bed (NMTB) for research of plant-based vaccines against infectious diseases. His research and that of fellow scientist Alan P. Escher, PhD, assistant professor of microbiology and molecular genetics, School of Medicine, have helped establish Loma Linda as a leader in the search for genetically engineered vaccines.

Dr. Langridge's article in Scientific American explains the history and progressive steps in the development of edible vaccines. Several illustrations show the various vaccine preparation and immunization processes in a simplified format.

"I'm honored and pleased to be asked to write for such a well-known and respected magazine," says Dr. Langridge. "I feel that the development of edible vaccines could hold the key to saving lives in areas of the world where other vaccines are too expensive or impractical."

[Scope, Autumn 2000]