We take multidisciplinary approaches to develop therapeutic interventions against sexually transmitted infection, gonorrhea. Gonorrhea affects millions of people globally and has serious consequences on reproductive and neonatal health. Gonorrhea outcomes are especially devastating in sexual, gender, racial, and ethnic minorities and resource-limited countries. To develop vaccine(s), we apply proteomics-driven antigen discovery and identified candidates are assessed in vitro and in mouse model. The second focus is drug discovery through high-throughput screening of small molecule inhibitors that target central players in bacterial physiology and pathogenesis.
Sahay lab is developing state of the art lipid-based nanoparticles for effective delivery of mRNA based vaccines and therapeutics. We design, characterize, and formulate nanoparticles and study their intracellular delivery mechanisms. Currently, our lipid nanoparticles are deployed to deliver genes/genome editors for the treatment of CF, retinal degeneration and COVID-19.