University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · Microbiology & ImmunologyDengue Defense Lab
Aravinda M. Desilva · Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Research Focus
Dr. Aravinda M. Desilva's lab focuses on developing improved vaccines for dengue virus, which is a major mosquito-borne disease. The lab employs innovative structural design techniques to create safe and effective vaccine candidates that can generate strong immune responses without causing adverse effects. By utilizing mouse models and advanced computational methods, the research aims to better target the immune system against dengue, contributing to public health efforts against this significant viral threat.
denguevaccine developmentvirus-like particlesstructural biologyimmunology
Research Aims
5AIM 01Design stable dengue virus envelope proteins to enhance vaccine efficacy.
AIM 02Evaluate the immune responses in mouse models following vaccination.
AIM 03Modify vaccine candidates to reduce the risk of disease enhancement.
AIM 04Develop virus-like particle vaccines that resemble infectious virions.
AIM 05Utilize computational models to predict protein interactions and optimize vaccine design.
Skills the Lab Values
protein engineeringmouse modelsantibody purificationcell cultureimmunoassaysbioinformaticsvirus propagationrecombinant DNA technology
Output against the department
Publications11bottom 3% of dept.473rd of 486
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations544bottom 4% of dept.467th of 486
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.