Filipino priest-scientist developing COVID-19 vaccine for the poor

MANILA, Philippines — A Filipino priest is reportedly developing a COVID-19 vaccine for the poor.

Fr. Nicanor Robles Austriaco, a scientist and professor based in the USA, said his project is called "Pagasa" and would be a good help for poor people around the world.

“The poor are beloved of the Lord. We should make COVID-19 vaccines available to them at no cost. This is both the ethical thing to do, because we should provide for those in need, and the scientific thing to do, because the poor often live in densely populated areas that tend to harbor the virus. If we want to eradicate the virus, then we have to vaccinate everyone, especially those most vulnerable to getting sick," Austriaco told Catholic website Aletia.

Austriaco said that he’s trying to develop a yeast vaccine delivery system for COVID-19. He, however, admitted that it will take months to determine if it’s effective.

“I’m a yeast molecular biologist. I’m trying to develop a yeast vaccine delivery system for COVID-19 that would be cheaper and easier to implement than the standard vaccines currently available. It’s a crazy idea, but there’s a lot of scientific research suggesting that such a yeast vaccine delivery system could work,” he said.

“I put my lab on this project after learning about the challenges the Filipino people would have in acquiring and deploying vaccines developed in the first world. We have begun vaccine development and it will take many months to determine if it’s effective in animal models,” he added.

The Filipino priest said a small grant from Providence College supports the preclinical trial stages of their vaccine development plan.

“For now, our main goal is to develop the system and then test the system in mice to see if it works. If the vaccine works in animals, then I would have to explore next steps. I am currently without sponsors or donors, and I’m not looking for them at this time. God has provided us with enough funds to begin the work. I know He will provide what we will need later if this works,” he said. 

The Filipino-American Austriaco earned his Bachelor of Science Engineering (B.S.E.), summa cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania in 1989. In 1996, he earned a PhD in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute pre-doctoral fellow in the laboratory. 

In 1997, he was a fellow at the Ludwig Institute of Cancer Research at the University College London, then he entered the Order of Friars Preachers. He earned his Master of Divinity degree and Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. In 2015, he completed his Doctorate in Sacred Theology at the University of Fribourg and earned an M.B.A. from Providence College in 2020.

Today, he is a professor of Biology and Theology at Providence College, in Providence, Rhode Island, and a research fellow at the Center for Theology, Religious Studies, and Ethics, at the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines.