Andrew Care

Alzheimer's disease is characterised by abnormal aggregations of two proteins in the brain: β-amyloid (Aβ) and hyperphosphorylated tau (pTau). As these aggregations increase over time, so does the cognitive decline in patients. Clinically-approved Alzheimer’s disease treatments are limited to intravenously administered monoclonal antibodies (mABs) that mark Aβ plaques in the brain for degradation by the immune system. However, serious concerns have been raised about the therapeutic efficacy, safety, and cost of these mABs. The goal of this project is to develop a next-generation Alzheimer’s disease vaccine that simultaneously targets both abnormal Aβ and pTau. The hypothesis is that natural protein nanocages can be bioengineered to display and deliver both Aβ and pTau antigens, stimulating the body to produce its own antibodies against both targets, enabling their removal from the brain. The project will have three aims: 1) bioengineering the nanocages to display Aβ and pTau antigens; 2) evaluating the vaccine's ability to induce antibody generation against both antigens in vivo; and 3) testing the therapeutic efficacy of the vaccine in an Alzheimer’s disease animal model. 

The significance of this project lies in the potential of active immunotherapy as a cheaper, safer, and more convenient alternative to mABs, and the use of a modular encapsulin-based vaccine for targeting multiple pathological forms of Aβ and pTau. Preliminary data shows that the team can make a nanocage vaccine that induces the production antibodies that recognises Alzheimer’s disease-specific antigens. Overall, this project aims to provide an Alzheimer’s disease vaccine that safe, effective, cheap and accessible to everyone. 

Dr Andrew Care is a Chancellor's Postdoctoral Research Fellow and a Chief investigator in the ARC Research Hub for Integrated Devices for End-user Analysis at Low Levels (IDEAL) at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).