As populations around the world grow older, one of medicine's most trusted tools — the vaccine — quietly loses its power. Scientists at Wellington's Malaghan Institute, working alongside researchers at Scotland's University of Dundee, are now mapping the cellular changes that come with age, seeking to understand why immune cells falter and how vaccines might be redesigned to meet people where they are in life. The work is both a scientific endeavor and a social one, grounded in the recognition that protecting the elderly is not merely a technical problem but a question of what we owe one anoth
NZ scientists launch project to develop better vaccines for older people
The housekeeper becomes less effective and things get messier
Mark
So the basic problem is that vaccines just don't work as well in older people. Is that something we've known for a long time, or is this new?
Mimi
We've known it for a while, but this project is trying to understand the actual mechanism—why it happens at the cellular level. That's the new part.
Luke
And they think it's about protein management inside the cells themselves?
Mimi
That's their hypothesis. As we age, the cells become less efficient at regulating the proteins they produce. Linterman uses the metaphor of a housekeeper—when you're young, the housekeeper keeps everything tidy, but as you age, things get messier.
Mark
Does that explain vaccine failure across the board, or just for certain types of vaccines?
Mimi
The source doesn't specify. It seems to be a general principle about how immune cells function, but the research will likely reveal more nuance.
Luke
How rare are these immune cells they're trying to study? Is this a real constraint or just a technical inconvenience?
Mimi
They come from blood samples in very small numbers, usually after vaccination. It's been a genuine barrier to research—that's why the University of Dundee's new technology matters so much.
Mark
And the Rauawaawa partnership—is that just about community engagement, or is there something deeper there?
Mimi
It's about trust and fit-for-purpose research. Rauawaawa is kaumātua-led, so they ensure the work actually serves older Māori, not just abstract science.
Luke
Do we know if this will actually lead to a vaccine, or is this purely foundational research at this stage?
Mimi
It's foundational. They're mapping what goes wrong first. A vaccine would come later, if the findings point that way.
Mark
How long is this likely to take?
Mimi
The source doesn't give a timeline. That's still unknown.
O Pulso
- Older adults remain vulnerable to preventable diseases even after vaccination, because aging disrupts the cellular machinery that makes immune responses possible.
- The immune cells most critical to this research are vanishingly rare in blood samples, a scarcity that has long blocked the kind of detailed study needed to move forward.
- A breakthrough protein-analysis technology developed at the University of Dundee now makes it possible to study these rare cells in meaningful numbers for the first time.
- The Malaghan Institute is pairing this laboratory work with a community partnership alongside Hamilton's Rauawaawa Kaumātua Charitable Trust, ensuring older Māori are participants in the research rather than simply its subjects.
- If successful, the project could yield vaccines tailored to aging immune systems — reducing hospitalizations, improving quality of life, and reshaping how societies think about growing old.
As populations around the world grow older, one of medicine's most trusted tools — the vaccine — quietly loses its power. Scientists at Wellington's Malaghan Institute, working alongside researchers at Scotland's University of Dundee, are now mapping the cellular changes that come with age, seeking to understand why immune cells falter and how vaccines might be redesigned to meet people where they are in life. The work is both a scientific endeavor and a social one, grounded in the recognition that protecting the elderly is not merely a technical problem but a question of what we owe one another across generations.
Michelle Linterman, chief scientist at Wellington's Malaghan Institute, is leading a collaboration with Scotland's University of Dundee to address a problem that touches everyone who lives long enough: as we age, vaccines become less effective. The reason is biological. Immune cells depend on careful protein management — a kind of internal housekeeping — to function well. With age, that housekeeping falters, proteins fall into disorder, and the immune response that vaccines rely on grows sluggish. Older people are left more exposed to illnesses that vaccination should prevent.
New Zealand's shifting demographics make the urgency plain. An older population means greater strain on the health system, more hospitalizations, and diminished quality of life for people in their later years. The research aims to change that equation — but it has faced a stubborn technical obstacle. The immune cells most relevant to this work appear in blood only in tiny numbers, making detailed study nearly impossible until now. The University of Dundee has developed protein-analysis technology precise enough to work with these rare cells, allowing researchers to map what changes with age and where a better-designed vaccine might intervene.
The project reaches beyond the laboratory. Linterman's team is working with Hamilton's Rauawaawa Kaumātua Charitable Trust, an organization led by and dedicated to older Māori. The partnership reflects a conviction that scientific knowledge built without community trust is knowledge that fails to travel. Rauawaawa brings both expertise in elder care and a commitment to ensuring the research genuinely serves those it studies.
The path ahead is long, but the ambition is clear: not simply to extend life, but to protect its quality — for older people, and for the whānau who walk alongside them.
Michelle Linterman, chief scientist at Wellington's Malaghan Institute, is leading a project that aims to solve a problem most of us will eventually face: vaccines stop working as well when we get older. The collaboration between the Malaghan Institute and Scotland's University of Dundee is attempting something that hasn't been done before—mapping in precise detail how immune cells change across the lifespan, with the goal of designing vaccines that actually protect older people effectively.
The challenge is biological. Vaccination remains one of the most reliable tools we have for preventing disease, but as people age, something shifts inside their cells. Immune cells produce proteins to function, and those proteins need constant management—a process Linterman describes as cellular housekeeping. When we're young, this system runs smoothly. But with age, the housekeeper becomes less attentive. Proteins accumulate in disorder. The immune cells themselves become less responsive. The result is that vaccines, which depend on a vigorous immune response, lose their punch. Older people end up more vulnerable to preventable illness, even after vaccination.
New Zealand's aging population makes this research urgent. The country's demographic profile is shifting toward older age groups, and the health system bears the cost. Developing vaccines that work better for older adults would mean fewer hospitalizations, fewer complications, and crucially, better quality of life for people in their later years. It's not just a medical question—it's a question about how people age, and whether that aging has to mean becoming fragile.
The technical barrier has been formidable. The immune cells researchers need to study are rare. They appear in blood samples only in tiny numbers, usually after vaccination when the immune system is actively responding. For years, this scarcity made detailed study nearly impossible. The University of Dundee has developed new technology that changes this equation. It allows researchers to analyze proteins in small numbers of cells—work that would have been impossible just a few years ago. The Malaghan team will take immune cells from older people, use this new technology to map the proteins present in those cells, and then connect those protein patterns to how the cells actually respond to vaccines. The result should be a detailed picture of what goes wrong, and where intervention might help.
But the science alone isn't enough. Linterman and her team are also partnering with Hamilton's Rauawaawa Kaumātua Charitable Trust, an organization led by and focused on serving older Māori. The partnership reflects a recognition that vaccines only work if communities trust the research behind them. Rauawaawa brings expertise in caring for older people and a commitment to ensuring that research serves the people it claims to help. The collaboration signals that this project isn't just about laboratory findings—it's about building knowledge in partnership with the communities who will benefit most.
The work ahead is complex and will take time. But the stakes are clear. If researchers can understand why immune cells age the way they do, and if they can design vaccines that work around those changes, the payoff extends far beyond any single disease. It's about allowing people to live not just longer, but healthier—a goal that matters to everyone as they age, and to the whānau who care for them.
Citações Notáveis
Better vaccines for older adults would mean fewer hospitalizations and better quality of life for older adults— Michelle Linterman, Malaghan Institute chief scientist
Rauawaawa are innovators in caring for older people and are kaumātua-led, ensuring that the services they develop and deliver are fit for purpose— Linterman, on the partnership approach
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