Lifetime flu vaccine research at UW gets big dose of funding

Research on a lifetime flu vaccine just got a major boost, thanks to a $45 million grant to The Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

Imagine just a one-time shot for the flu to vaccinate you for life.

“The dream is can we make a vaccine that teaches the immune system to not only protect you from not only this year’s flu virus, but ideally all flu viruses," said Neil King, who is part of the research effort already underway at the UW School of Medicine.

That dream may be far off, but King said they’ve already had success improving another vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus.

“This large bolus of funding we see as catalytic and will take us to the next level. Hopefully we’ll take the work that we do and take it out into the world and make a difference," King said.

The money comes from a philanthropic group called the Audacious Project.

King said it will also help researchers find ways to use proteins to identify cancerous cells.