Abstract
My technical work and STS research both address global health challenges through the development and distribution of vaccines. mRNA vaccine technologies have emerged as a revolutionary way to treat life-threatening diseases, offering high efficacy and rapid development. However, a challenge remains in ensuring these vaccines reach the populations that need them the most. Without equitable access, these technologies will not meet their full potential. My technical project focuses on the design of an mRNA vaccine for tuberculosis (TB), while my STS research examines the economic barriers to vaccine procurement that certain countries faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Together, these projects design a vaccine and ensure that it can be distributed equitably worldwide. My work is interconnected through the shared goal of promoting equitable access to life-saving vaccines.
TB remains the leading infectious cause of death in low- and middle-income countries and lacks an effective vaccine. My technical project proposes the development and production of an mRNA vaccine for TB, looking into the design of a manufacturing facility. The vaccine manufacturing process involves key steps such as mRNA synthesis, lipid nanoparticle encapsulation, purification, and sterile filtration. Each step requires strict quality control and regulatory compliance to ensure the vaccine’s effectiveness and to protect the health and safety of consumers, employees, and the environment. The plant will produce 10 million doses annually. It will sell to both domestic markets, targeting healthcare workers and travelers, and to high-burden regions across Southeast Asia and Africa. The plant is projected to operate for 20 years with an internal rate of return of 105%, indicating strong financial potential. The plant is also designed with adaptability in mind, allowing for future repurposing to address other infectious diseases using mRNA technology.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many lower-income countries (LICs) struggled to secure vaccine doses in a timely manner, resulting in delayed vaccinations and extended public health crises. My STS research focuses on the economic and systemic barriers that contributed to these inequities. Rather than focusing on a single cause or actor, I use Actor-Network Theory to examine the interactions among pharmaceutical companies, governments, international health organizations, legal agreements, funding programs, and infrastructure challenges. This approach reveals that vaccine inaccessibility is the result of a complex, interdependent system. My work highlights the need for structural changes and offers some recommendations for global health systems before the next health crisis arises.
Through these projects, I have come to understand vaccine development from a scientific and economic perspective. On the technical side, I learned how complex and costly the manufacturing process is–from sourcing raw materials to ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. Despite the numerous estimates due to proprietary information on this novel technology, I learned how profitable mRNA vaccine production can be. In my work, I was able to price the vaccines at a lower cost to LICs while pricing them higher for domestic markets, and still achieve significant profit margins. This economic analysis highlights the potential for global health impact. In contrast, my STS work took me beyond quantitative measures like profit and shifted my focus toward economic structures. I learned who and what impacts vaccine distribution, using the COVID-19 pandemic as a case study with concrete information. I was not concerned with how much money certain companies made from vaccine development, instead concentrating on why certain countries couldn’t access doses. Learning about these inequities motivated me to connect the technical work to the global health system, allowing me to discuss social impact and ethical responsibility within my work. The intersection of my technical and STS work has shown me the importance of approaching global health from both an innovative and equitable perspective. The ultimate goal of my work is to not just create an effective TB vaccine, but also to enable its distribution in an equitable system.
