The importance of structural biology, according to Fauci

In a New England Journal of Medicine article (Nov 26, 2022; DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp2213814), Dr. Anthony S. Fauci writes “One highly successful element of the response to Covid-19, however, was the rapid development — enabled by years of investment in basic and applied research — of highly adaptable vaccine platforms such as mRNA (among others) and the use of structural biology tools to design vaccine immunogens. The unprecedented speed with which safe and highly effective Covid-19 vaccines were developed, proven effective, and distributed resulted in millions of lives saved. Over the years, many subspecialties of medicine have benefited greatly from breathtaking technological advances. The same can now be said of the field of infectious diseases, particularly with the tools we now have for responding to emerging infectious diseases, such as the rapid and high-throughput sequencing of viral genomes; the development of rapid, highly specific multiplex diagnostics; and the use of structure-based immunogen design combined with novel platforms for vaccines.”