World Immunization Week in April turned global attention once again to the lifesaving power of vaccines.
Amid headlines about rising cases of measles, falling vaccination rates, and growing vaccine hesitancy, a quieter revolution is underway — one that could fundamentally reshape how we respond to global health threats, including pandemics and cancer.
This revolution is being powered by RNA technology — and Canada is uniquely positioned to lead it.
A made-in-Canada breakthrough
While the swift development of COVID-19 vaccines appeared to be a sudden scientific triumph, it was built on six decades of foundational work. Much of that work happened in Canada. Messenger RNA (mRNA) are large, negatively charged molecules that are easily degraded and repelled by our cells.
To coax our cells to internalize them, scientists developed a way to encapsulate them in “fat bubbles” or lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), which were invented by Pieter Cullis (BSc’67, MSc’70, PhD’72) and collaborators. Cullis, a co-author of this article, is a professor in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of British Columbia.
