A Q&A with Andrew Bubak, PhD, Assistant Professor, Neurology, on his lab’s work developing a novel vaccine to address the serious neurological complications of varicella zoster virus (VZV)
What is your invention?
A next-generation vaccine targeting the newly discovered neurological effects of varicella zoster virus (VZV) that go beyond a skin rash, including stroke, dementia, clotting and immunosuppression.
"VZV is way more than a skin virus, we currently don't have great protection for the neurological complications - stroke, clotting, dementia, immunosuppression…This new therapeutic tackles the full range of VZV as we now know it. It has potential to set a new standard of care as our understanding of VZV has significantly expanded."
What is your discovery and what can it be used for?
A novel VZV vaccine that pairs the proven gE antigen along with IE62, the VZV immediate-early protein, neutralizing the earliest (currently untargeted) stage of infection. By blocking IE62-driven pathology, it extends protection well beyond the skin rash to the neurological and systemic complications which are not addressed by current vaccines on the market.
What motivated you to do this research?
Seeing VZV-linked neurological damage and dementia in patients—even after successful shingles vaccination—drove us to uncover what the current vaccines miss or where they are underperforming. Discovering that VZV IE62 triggers this hidden pathology motivated us to create a solution that closes that critical protection gap.
This gap matters because these risks are substantial to life-threatening, yet they are potentially preventable with this type of innovation:
- 3–4x higher vascular dementia risk with facial shingles
- Up to 8x higher stroke risk in under-50 patients with facial shingles
What's the potential impact of your discovery?
By targeting VZV’s entire disease process—not just the shingles skin rash—our upgraded vaccine aims to protect the neurological and vascular complications that afflict millions. In short, it delivers broader, longer-lasting protection where today’s shingles vaccines leave a gap.
“There’s support from CU Innovations to take huge swings - with the potential to change lives. Faculty and students should reach out once they have an idea to improve patient care, or want to push our understanding of a certain disease. CU Innovations is the fastest and easiest way to translate your research to patient impact, and to have a say in how it reaches those patients.”
What near-term milestones around your discovery are you most excited about?:
Complete animal studies showing our IE62 + gE vaccine uniquely prevents VZV-driven vascular and neurological damage.
What future directions do you wish to expand this discovery?
We aim to adapt this targeting strategy to other herpesviruses, opening a new class of vaccines against latency-and-neurological disease.
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For inquiries on licensing this technology contact: maxine.faass@cuanschutz.edu
Ref# 2024-285 & 2024-293 / 303-724-0220
