1. Designing, optimizing, and applying key neutralizing structural domains and cellular immune epitope-enriched regions in viruses for the development of novel vaccines;

2. Utilizing genetic editing and modification techniques on immune cells to facilitate the design and evaluation of personalized vaccines; 

3. Investigating the interactions and regulatory mechanisms among the immune system, metabolic system, and nervous system within the body; 

4. Developing and optimizing novel vaccine technologies, with a specific emphasis on mRNA vaccines and nanoparticle vaccines.

Established a novel method for optimizing the design of antigen epitopes for viral infectious disease vaccines based on the neutralizing immunogenicity index to decipher crucial molecular mechanisms enhancing antigen-neutralizing antibody induction. Introduced the concept of "cellular immune epitope-enriched regions" to achieve targeted activation of cellular immune response, guiding vaccine design through the strategy of synergistically activating humoral and cellular immunity based on antigen source design. Conducted research on targeted delivery of antigens, antibodies, and drugs capitalizing on viral infection characteristics to harness tissue-specific immune protection. Over the past five years, he has published over 20 papers as the (co-)first author or corresponding author in international professional journals such as Nature Communications, Science Advances, Cell Research, Cell Reports, and Journal of Virology, including 2 highly cited papers and 1 hot paper according to ESI, with a single paper being cited over 1800 times. He is the main inventor of 10 Chinese and American patents and has been funded by 4 national-level grants. Additionally, he has been invited to serve as a reviewer for over 30 international SCI journals, including Emerging Microbes & Infections, ACS Nano, Clinical Microbiology and Infection, and NPJ Vaccines. He participated in the establishment of China's first English journal on zoonotic diseases, Zoonoses, serving as Assistant Editor-in-Chief and Youth Editorial Board member. He also serves as a member of the Biological Safety Committee/Virus Committee of the Chinese Society for Microbiology, and a member of the Vaccine Basic Research Committee of the China Vaccine Industry Association.

Cellular and humoral immune response synergistic activation strategy for the design of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19

1.Tai W, Feng S, Chai B, Lu S, Zhao G, Chen D, Yu W, Ren L, Shi H, Lu J, Cai Z, Pang M, Tan X, Wang P, Lin J, Sun Q, Peng X, Cheng G. An mRNA-based T-cell-inducing antigen strengthens COVID-19 vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 variants. Nat Commun. 2023 May 23;14(1):2962. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-38751-8. 

2.Tai W, Yang K, Liu Y, Li R, Feng S, Chai B, Zhuang X, Qi S, Shi H, Liu Z, Lei J, Ma E, Wang W, Tian C, Le T, Wang J, Chen Y, Tian M, Xiang Y, Yu G, Cheng G. A lung-selective delivery of mRNA encoding broadly neutralizing antibody against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Nat Commun. 2023 Dec 5;14(1):8042. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-43798-8. 

3.Tai W, Zhang X, Drelich A, Shi J, Hsu JC, Luchsinger L, Hillyer CD, Tseng CK, Jiang S, Du L. A novel receptor-binding domain (RBD)-based mRNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. Cell Res. 2020 Oct;30(10):932-935. doi: 10.1038/s41422-020-0387-5. 

4.Tai W, Chai B, Feng S, Zhuang X, Ma J, Pang M, Pan L, Yang Z, Tian M, Cheng G. Development of a ferritin-based nanoparticle vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. Signal Transduct Target Ther. 2022 Jun 1;7(1):173. doi: 10.1038/s41392-022-01041-8. 

5.Tai W, He L, Zhang X, Pu J, Voronin D, Jiang S, Zhou Y, Du L. Characterization of the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of 2019 novel coronavirus: implication for development of RBD protein as a viral attachment inhibitor and vaccine. Cell Mol Immunol. 2020 Jun;17(6):613-620. doi: 10.1038/s41423-020-0400-4. 

6.Tai W, Zhang X, He Y, Jiang S, Du L. Identification of SARS-CoV RBD-targeting monoclonal antibodies with cross-reactive or neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2. Antiviral Res. 2020 Jul;179:104820. doi: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2020.104820. 

7.Tai W, Chen J, Zhao G, Geng Q, He L, Chen Y, Zhou Y, Li F, Du L. Rational Design of Zika Virus Subunit Vaccine with Enhanced Efficacy. J Virol. 2019 Aug 13;93(17):e02187-18. doi: 10.1128/JVI.02187-18.