New Approaches to Vaccinology Made Possible by Advances in Next Generation Sequencing, Bioinformatics and Protein modeling.

Vaccines can be powerful tools, but for some diseases, safe and effective vaccines have been elusive. New developments in nucleic acid sequencing, bioinformatics, and protein modeling are facilitating the discovery of previously unknown antigens through reverse vaccinology approaches. Sequencing the complementarity- determining region of antibodies and T cell receptors allows detailed assessment of the immune repertoire and identification of paratopes shared by many individuals, supporting the selection of antigens that may be broadly protective.