Wataru Akahata
My research career has focused on developing innovative vaccine platforms for emerging infectious diseases, with emphasis on alphavirus biology and virus-like particle (VLP) engineering. During my tenure at the Vaccine Research Center (VRC), NIH, I led efforts that resulted in two major scientific contributions: (1) development of the chikungunya virus (CHIKV) VLP vaccine—approved by the FDA and EMA in 2025—and (2) engineering of multivalent alphavirus VLP vaccines for equine encephalitis viruses, a contribution recognized by the NIH Director’s Award. These accomplishments highlight my commitment to mechanism-driven vaccine design grounded in virology, structural biology, and innate immunity.
My current research extends this trajectory by advancing three complementary platform technologies: a self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) platform, an alphavirus replicon particle (VRP) therapeutic platform and VLP vaccines. Our saRNA system enhances antigen expression while mitigating reactogenicity, enabling potent and durable immunogenicity. This technology supports multiple clinical and preclinical programs, including malaria, influenza, and COVID-19 vaccines. Across these programs, VLPT has conducted 11 clinical trials to date, including a Phase 3 COVID-19 saRNA vaccine trial, demonstrating our ability to translate platform innovation into advanced human studies. In parallel, we have developed VRP-based cancer immunotherapies designed to reprogram the tumor microenvironment, with a first-in-human Phase I trial initiating at Stanford University (IND#031261).
Additionally, we have developed a first-in-class VLP flavivirus vaccine for dengue, scheduled to enter Phase I clinical testing in 2027.
To accelerate these programs, VLPT established an in-house GMP manufacturing facility in 2025, enabling scalable and cost-efficient production of saRNA, VRP, and VLP vaccines. This capability supports rapid clinical execution, regulatory readiness, and global deployment of vaccine candidates. Although industry-based, this infrastructure directly enhances the feasibility and translational impact of our academic–industry collaborations and strengthens our capacity to advance discoveries into first-in-human evaluation.
Across these efforts, my long-standing goal is to integrate fundamental virology with translational vaccine development to address unmet medical needs. I remain committed to contributing to the advancement of vaccine science, and my expertise in translational immunology, and nucleic acid and VLP vaccine design to advance impactful, mechanism-based vaccines and next-generation cancer immunotherapies
Abstracts this author is presenting: