Photo: Janne Viinanen
This doctoral dissertation investigated whether structurally engineered virus-like particle (VLP) vaccines mimicking the enterovirus Coxsackievirus B1 can induce a protective immune response against infection, while also improving vaccine safety and production yield. The vaccine candidates developed in this study showed significantly higher production yields compared to traditional inactivated virus vaccines, demonstrated excellent stability, and elicited a strong protective immune response against infection. The results indicate that a VLP-based approach provides a novel, safe, and scalable strategy for enterovirus vaccine development, with potential applicability to other clinically important enteroviruses.
The doctoral dissertation of MSc Saana Soppela in the field of biosciences titled Rational Engineering and Immunological Evaluation of Coxsackievirus B1 Virus-Like Particle Vaccines will be publicly examined at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology at Tampere University on 8 May 2026.
The opponent will be Professor Heli Harvala from the University of Turku. The Custos will be Adjunct Professor Minna Hankaniemi from Tampere University.