Overview
Background
Dr Fernando's current research interests include developing needle-free, pain-free, skin patch vaccines. Influenza and human papilloma virus vaccines are used as model vaccines in these studies.
Dr Germain Fernando completed PhD at the University of Arizona, USA, and did post-doctoral research at the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA, before joining the University of Queensland in 1989. He has been working in the field of vaccinology for the last 28 years. He has a H-Index of 36.
He is a Senior Consultant at Vaxxas Pty. Ltd, Brisbane, Australia
Publications and Citation Metrics are available at the following website:
http://www.researcherid.com/rid/C-3733-2009
Availability
- Dr Germain Fernando is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor (Honours) of Science (Advanced), unknown
- Doctor of Philosophy, Arizona State University
Research interests
-
Vaccinations using a novel needle-free, pain-free, skin patch.
Although effective vaccines are available for combating diseases such as flu and cervical cancer, some people are reluctant to get vaccinated because of the fear of the needle. The needle and syringe first invented in 1853 is still being used because of the convenience to the person administering the vaccine. However this method has many disadvantages: Fear of the needle and the pain of injection, especially among children. Furthermore injection into muscle is less efficient than delivering the vaccine directly to immunologically active cells in the skin. We have designed a skin patch to overcome these disadvantages. We have recently published data to show potent immunity can be induced using very low doses of vaccine delivered by the skin patch. Reference: Fernando et al PLoS One 2010 April 21:5(4), e 10266.
Works
Search Professor Germain Fernando’s works on UQ eSpace
Featured
2016
Journal Article
Potent response of QS-21 as a vaccine adjuvant in the skin when delivered with the Nanopatch, resulted in adjuvant dose sparing
Ng, Hwee-Ing, Fernando, Germain J. P., Depelsenaire, Alexandra C. I. and Kendall, Mark A. F. (2016). Potent response of QS-21 as a vaccine adjuvant in the skin when delivered with the Nanopatch, resulted in adjuvant dose sparing. Scientific Reports, 6 (1) 29368, 29368. doi: 10.1038/srep29368
Featured
2016
Journal Article
The changing shape of vaccination: Improving immune responses through geometrical variations of a microdevice for immunization
Crichton, Michael Lawrence, Muller, David Alexander, Depelsenaire, Alexandra Christina Isobel, Pearson, Frances Elizabeth, Wei, Jonathan, Coffey, Jacob, Zhang, Jin, Fernando, Germain J. P. and Kendall, Mark Anthony Fernance (2016). The changing shape of vaccination: Improving immune responses through geometrical variations of a microdevice for immunization. Scientific Reports, 6 (1) 27217, e27217.1-e27217.7. doi: 10.1038/srep27217
Featured
2016
Journal Article
Formulations for microprojection/microneedle vaccine delivery: structure, strength and release profiles
Raphael, Anthony P., Crichton, Michael L., Falconer, Robert J., Meliga, Stefano, Chen, Xianfeng, Fernando, Germain J. P., Huang, Han and Kendall, Mark A. F. (2016). Formulations for microprojection/microneedle vaccine delivery: structure, strength and release profiles. Journal of Controlled Release, 225, 40-52. doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2016.01.027
Featured
2016
Journal Article
Inactivated poliovirus type 2 vaccine delivered to rat skin via high density microprojection array elicits potent neutralising antibody responses
Muller, David A., Pearson, Frances E., Fernando, Germain J. P., Agyei-Yeboah, Christiana, Owens, Nick S., Corrie, Simon R., Crichton, Michael L., Wei, Jonathan C. J., Weldon, William C., Oberste, M. Steven, Young, Paul R. and Kendall, Mark A. F. (2016). Inactivated poliovirus type 2 vaccine delivered to rat skin via high density microprojection array elicits potent neutralising antibody responses. Scientific Reports, 6 (22094) 22094, 1-7. doi: 10.1038/srep22094
Featured
2013
Journal Article
Dry-Coated Live Viral Vector Vaccines Delivered by Nanopatch Microprojections Retain Long-Term Thermostability and Induce Transgene-Specific T Cell Responses in Mice
Pearson, Frances E., McNeilly, Celia L., Crichton, Michael L., Primiero, Clare A., Yukiko, Sally R., Fernando, Germain J. P., Chen, Xianfeng, Gilbert, Sarah C., Hill, Adrian V. S. and Kendall, Mark A. F. (2013). Dry-Coated Live Viral Vector Vaccines Delivered by Nanopatch Microprojections Retain Long-Term Thermostability and Induce Transgene-Specific T Cell Responses in Mice. PLoS ONE, 8 (7) e67888, e67888.1-e67888.9. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0067888
Featured
2013
Journal Article
Depth-resolved characterization of diffusion properties within and across minimally-perturbed skin layers
Raphael, Anthony P., Meliga, Stefano C., Chen, Xianfeng, Fernando, Germain J. P., Flaim, Christopher and Kendall, Mark A. F. (2013). Depth-resolved characterization of diffusion properties within and across minimally-perturbed skin layers. Journal of Controlled Release, 166 (2), 87-94. doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2012.12.010
Featured
2012
Journal Article
Induction of potent CD8(+) T cell responses through the delivery of subunit protein vaccines to skin antigen-presenting cells using densely packed microprojection arrays
Ng, Hwee-Ing, Fernando, Germain J. P. and Kendall, Mark A. F. (2012). Induction of potent CD8(+) T cell responses through the delivery of subunit protein vaccines to skin antigen-presenting cells using densely packed microprojection arrays. Journal of Controlled Release, 162 (3), 477-484. doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2012.07.024
Featured
2012
Journal Article
Nanopatch targeted delivery of both antigen and adjuvant to skin synergistically drives enhanced antibody responses
Fernando, Germain J. P., Chen, Xianfeng, Primero, Clare A., Yukiko, Sally R., Fairmaid, Emily J., Corbett, Holly J., Frazer, Ian H., Brown, Lorena E. and Kendall, Mark A. F. (2012). Nanopatch targeted delivery of both antigen and adjuvant to skin synergistically drives enhanced antibody responses. Journal of Controlled Release, 159 (2), 215-221. doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2012.01.030
Featured
2012
Journal Article
Rapid kinetics to peak serum antibodies is achieved following influenza vaccination by dry-coated densely packed microprojections to skin
Chen, Xianfeng, Fernando, Germain J. P., Raphael, Anthony P., Yukiko, Sally R., Fairmaid, Emily J., Primiero, Clare A., Frazer, Ian H., Brown, Lorena E. and Kendall, Mark A. F. (2012). Rapid kinetics to peak serum antibodies is achieved following influenza vaccination by dry-coated densely packed microprojections to skin. Journal of Controlled Release, 158 (1), 78-84. doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2011.10.026
Featured
2011
Journal Article
Improving the reach of vaccines to low-resource regions, with a needle-free vaccine delivery device and long-term thermostabilization
Chen, Xianfeng, Fernando, Germain J. P., Crichton, Michael L., Flaim, Christopher, Yukiko, Sally R., Fairmaid, Emily J., Corbett, Holly J., Primiero, Clare A., Ansaldo, Alexander B., Frazer, Ian H., Brown, Lorena E. and Kendall, Mark A. F. (2011). Improving the reach of vaccines to low-resource regions, with a needle-free vaccine delivery device and long-term thermostabilization. Journal of Controlled Release, 152 (3), 349-355. doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2011.02.026
Featured
2011
Journal Article
Site-selectively coated, densely-packed microprojection array patches for targeted delivery of vaccines to skin
Chen, Xianfeng, Corbett, Holly J., Yukiko, Sally R., Raphael, Anthony P., Fairmaid, Emily J., Prow, Tarl W., Brown, Lorena E., Fernando, Germain J. P. and Kendall, Mark A. F. (2011). Site-selectively coated, densely-packed microprojection array patches for targeted delivery of vaccines to skin. Advanced Functional Materials, 21 (3), 464-473. doi: 10.1002/adfm.201000966
Featured
2010
Journal Article
Improved DNA vaccination by skin-targeted delivery using dry-coated densely-packed microprojection arrays
Chen, Xianfeng, Kask, Angela Shaulov, Crichton, Michael L., McNeilly, Celia, Yukiko, Sally, Dong, Lichun, Marshak, Joshua O., Jarrahian, Courtney, Fernando, Germain J. P., Chen, Dexiang, Koelle, David M. and Kendall, Mark A.F. (2010). Improved DNA vaccination by skin-targeted delivery using dry-coated densely-packed microprojection arrays. Journal of Controlled Release, 148 (3), 327-333. doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2010.09.001
Featured
2010
Journal Article
Surface-modified microprojection arrays for intradermal biomarker capture, with low non-specific protein binding
Corrie, Simon R., Fernando, Germain J. P., Crichton, Michael L., Brunck, Marion E. G., Anderson, Chris D. and Kendall, Mark A. F. (2010). Surface-modified microprojection arrays for intradermal biomarker capture, with low non-specific protein binding. Lab On a Chip, 10 (20), 2655-2658. doi: 10.1039/c0lc00068j
Featured
2010
Journal Article
Skin vaccination against cervical cancer associated human papillomavirus with a novel micro-projection array in a mouse model
Corbett, Holly J., Fernando, Germain J. P., Chen, Xianfeng, Frazer, Ian H. and Kendall, Mark A. F. (2010). Skin vaccination against cervical cancer associated human papillomavirus with a novel micro-projection array in a mouse model. PLoS One, 5 (10) e13460, e13460.1-e13460.9. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0013460
Featured
2010
Journal Article
Nanopatch-targeted skin vaccination against West Nile virus and chikungunya virus in mice
Prow, Tarl W., Chen, Xianfeng, Prow, Natalie A., Fernando, Germain J. P., Tan, Cindy S. E., Raphael, Anthony P., Chang, David, Ruutu, Merja P., Jenkins, Derek W. K., Pyke, Alyssa, Crichton, Michael L., Raphaelli, Kristin, Goh, Lucas Y. H., Frazer, Ian H., Roberts, Michael S., Gardner, Joy, Khromykh, Alexander A., Suhrbier, Andreas, Hall, Roy A. and Kendall, Mark A. F. (2010). Nanopatch-targeted skin vaccination against West Nile virus and chikungunya virus in mice. Small, 6 (16), 1776-1784. doi: 10.1002/smll.201000331
Featured
2010
Journal Article
Targeted, needle-free vaccinations in skin using multi layered, densely-packed dissolving microprojection arrays
Raphael, Anthony P., Prow, Tarl W., Crichton, Michael L., Chen, Xianfeng, Fernando, Germain J. P. and Kendall, Mark A. F. (2010). Targeted, needle-free vaccinations in skin using multi layered, densely-packed dissolving microprojection arrays. Small, 6 (16), 1785-1793. doi: 10.1002/smll.201000326
Featured
2010
Journal Article
The effect of strain rate on the precision of penetration of short densely-packed microprojection array patches coated with vaccine
Crichton, Michael L., Ansaldo, Alexander, Chen, Xianfeng, Prow, Tarl W., Fernando, Germain J. P. and Kendall, Mark A. F. (2010). The effect of strain rate on the precision of penetration of short densely-packed microprojection array patches coated with vaccine. Biomaterials, 31 (16), 4562-4572. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2010.02.022
Featured
2010
Other Outputs
A method and associated apparatus for coating projections on a patch assembly
Kendall, Mark A., Fernando, Germain J., Chen, Xianfeng, Prow, Tarl and Corbett, Holly (2010). A method and associated apparatus for coating projections on a patch assembly. International Appl. Num.: PCT/AU2009/001366.
Featured
2010
Journal Article
Potent immunity to low doses of influenza vaccine by probabilistic guided micro-targeted skin delivery in a mouse model
Fernando, Germain J. P., Chen, Xianfeng, Prow, Tarl W., Crichton, Michael L., Fairmaid, Emily J., Roberts, Michael S., Frazer, Ian H., Brown, Lorena E. and Kendall, Mark A. F. (2010). Potent immunity to low doses of influenza vaccine by probabilistic guided micro-targeted skin delivery in a mouse model. PLoS One, 5 (4) e10266, e10266.1-e10266.11. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0010266
Featured
2009
Journal Article
Dry-coated microprojection array patches for targeted delivery of immunotherapeutics to the skin
Chen, Xianfeng, Prow, Tarl W., Crichton, Michael L., Jenkins, Derek W.K., Roberts, Michael S., Frazer, Ian H., Fernando, Germain J.P. and Kendall, Mark A.F. (2009). Dry-coated microprojection array patches for targeted delivery of immunotherapeutics to the skin. Journal of Controlled Release, 139 (3), 212-220. doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2009.06.029
Funding
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Germain Fernando is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Available projects
-
Development of needle-free pain-free skin patch vaccines
1). Delivering of vaccines using a novel skin patch that is needle-free and pain-free which induces potent immune responses. Study of mechanisms.
2). Developing Universal Influenza Vaccines that protect people from new strains of virus.
3). Translating the skin patch vaccine delivery system from animal models to human clinical testing.
Supervision history
Completed supervision
-
2017
Doctor Philosophy
Systems Vaccinology studies on the biomolecular basis of physical adjuvantation in skin when vaccinated with a high density microprojection array
Associate Advisor
-
2012
Doctor Philosophy
Dissolving Nanopatches for Targeted Vaccine Delivery to the Skin
Associate Advisor
Media
Enquiries
Contact Dr Germain Fernando directly for media enquiries about:
- Anti-cancer Vaccines
- Antibody
- Biochemistry
- Drug Delivery
- Immunisation
- Immunology
- Influenza vaccines
- Lipid Chemistry
- Lipoproteins
- Medical Devices
- Nanopatch
- Needle-free vaccination
- Papillomavirus Vaccines
- Protein Chemistry
- Skin - vaccinations
- Systems Vaccinology
- T-Cells
- Vaccination
- Vaccine Adjuvants
- Vaccine delivery
- Vaccines
- Vaccines and genes
- Viral Vaccines
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