Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The flu virus is notoriously hard to protect against, because its surface proteins mutate so quickly. These scientists are working on an alternative route to a vaccine that could protect against many strains of influenza at the same time — and reduce the frequency of regular flu shots.
"Toward an affordable universal influenza vaccine: M2-based virus-like particles"
Presented at ACS Fall 2026 on August 24, 2026
Presenter: Trang Hoang
Principal investigator: Fei Wen, Ph.D.
To read an ACS press release about this research, go to acs.org/pressroom/presspacs/2026/august/yeast-derived-universal-flu-vaccine-replace-yearly-injections.html.
Video credits:
Written, produced, and hosted by Anne Hylden
Special guest appearance by Laura Ahlers, Ph.D.
Editing and animations by Vangie Koonce
Series produced by Vangie Koonce, Anne Hylden, Andrew Sobey, Janali Thompson, Darren Weaver, Elaine Seward, and Jefferson Beck
Executive produced by Matthew Radcliff
Laboratory video (by Jeremy Little) and photos (by Brenda Ahearn) from University of Michigan
Scientific images from Trang Hoang and Isabel Vanderzee
Virus schematics from Pielak and Chou, 2011, DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2010.04.015
M2 structure from RCSB Protein Data Bank: 3BKD
Additional images from Shutterstock and Wikimedia Commons
Sound effects from Soundsnap
Produced by the American Chemical Society (ACS), one of the world’s largest scientific societies. ACS is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals, and scientific conferences.
Join the #AmericanChemicalSociety! bit.ly/Join_ACS
#flu #vaccine #virus #yeast #chemistry #ACS
The flu virus is notoriously hard to protect against, because its surface proteins mutate so quickly. These scientists are working on an alternative route to a vaccine that could protect against many strains of influenza at the same time — and reduce the frequency of regular flu shots.
"Toward an affordable universal influenza vaccine: M2-based virus-like particles"
Presented at ACS Fall 2026 on August 24, 2026
Presenter: Trang Hoang
Principal investigator: Fei Wen, Ph.D.
To read an ACS press release about this research, go to acs.org/pressroom/presspacs/2026/august/yeast-derived-universal-flu-vaccine-replace-yearly-injections.html.
Video credits:
Written, produced, and hosted by Anne Hylden
Special guest appearance by Laura Ahlers, Ph.D.
Editing and animations by Vangie Koonce
Series produced by Vangie Koonce, Anne Hylden, Andrew Sobey, Janali Thompson, Darren Weaver, Elaine Seward, and Jefferson Beck
Executive produced by Matthew Radcliff
Laboratory video (by Jeremy Little) and photos (by Brenda Ahearn) from University of Michigan
Scientific images from Trang Hoang and Isabel Vanderzee
Virus schematics from Pielak and Chou, 2011, DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2010.04.015
M2 structure from RCSB Protein Data Bank: 3BKD
Additional images from Shutterstock and Wikimedia Commons
Sound effects from Soundsnap
Produced by the American Chemical Society (ACS), one of the world’s largest scientific societies. ACS is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals, and scientific conferences.
Join the #AmericanChemicalSociety! bit.ly/Join_ACS
#flu #vaccine #virus #yeast #chemistry #ACS
