VT College of Science Magazine Spring 2009 | Page 8

S C i e n C e

M a g a z i n e

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ViRginia teCh SenioR deVeloping
VaCCineS to Battle ViRUSeS By Alyssa Haak, English Major
Starting just her second year of undergraduate research at Vir-

The avian project was a pilot study; various vaccines developed

ginia Tech, senior biological sciences honors student Megan

by the Virginia Tech team were administered to white leghorn

Wicks of Colonial Heights, Va., has begun to create a novel vac-

chickens to see if they would produce a better immune response

cine for porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus

than the wild-type vaccine. Vaccinations introduce weakened

(PRRSV), a virus that can be devastating to commercial swine

forms of a virus so that the body recognizes the pathogen and

populations.

begins producing antibodies to fight it. Normally, secreted pro-

Initially attending Virginia Tech to pursue a career in veterinary
medicine, Wicks understood the importance of gaining research
and lab experience. When she received an e-mail from the Hon-

o f

ors Program regarding the need for undergraduate assistants in
a Virginia Tech virology lab, she decided to apply. This decision,

Issue No. 6 sprINg 2009

C o l l e g e

according to Wicks, “fantastically changed my life.” The minute
she entered the virology lab of Chris Roberts, associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, she decided to change her future career to research. The
entire first semester of her junior year was devoted to observing and learning the techniques of her position. By spring se-

teins — called cytokines — boost and direct the immune system’s response to inflammation and infections. In their research,
Virginia Tech faculty members and students created vaccines
that presented membrane-bound versions of cytokines directly
on the surface of inactivated viral particles. Wicks then analyzed
the serum, a component of blood, for the concentration it contained. If more antibodies were produced than by the traditional
vaccine, then the trial was considered successful. While the differences their tests found were not statistically significant, they
showed promise and the team decided to continue testing vaccines and began creating new vaccines for PRRSV.

mester, Wicks had become skilled enough to aid Roberts with

Returning to Virginia Tech in fall 2008 with summer research

his research on avian flu vaccines.

experience gained at the University of Florida microbiology de-

Senior Megan Wicks works
alongside associate professor
Chris Roberts developing new
vaccines for a deadly swine virus.