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Abstract
Powassan virus is a lethal tick-borne flavivirus currently emerging in North America for which there are no therapies or vaccines. This dissertation focuses on developing a vaccine for this virus using virus-like particle as antigen, novel Toll-like receptor agonists as adjuvants, and a mouse model of infection to evaluate vaccine efficacy. Lipid-based formulations, particle maturity, and correlates of protection are explored to determine the most effective vaccine strategy.