UC, UC Health to launch Phase 3 clinical trial for COVID-19 vaccine
Vaccine uses a genetic code to produce proteins that may generate protective antibodies
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati and UC Health will host a Phase 3 clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a vaccine for COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
UC is one of approximately 90 sites across the United States selected for the study, which will administer the vaccine candidate mRNA-1273 to volunteer participants and monitor its efficacy in eliciting an immune response that provides protection from COVID-19. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, is funding the study.
Carl Fichtenbaum, MD, of the UC College of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases, medical director of the COVID-19 vaccine trial. Photo/Colleen Kelley/UC Creative + Brand
“UC was chosen because we have a proven track record of high-quality research and are the number one site in the NIAID-funded, AIDS Clinical Trials Group in the U.S. We are proud to bring leading-edge research to Cincinnati so that we can help our community battle the COVID-19 pandemic and be part of the solution,” said Carl Fichtenbaum, MD, professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the UC College of Medicine and a UC Health physician.
Fichtenbaum is co-investigator of the study and will serve as medical director.
Read the full story here.
Featured photo of COVID-19 vials by Colleen Kelley/UC Creative + Brand
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Stay up on all UC's COVID-19 stories, read more #UCtheGood content, or take a UC virtual visit and begin picturing yourself at an institution that inspires incredible stories.
Related Stories
Driven by curiosity, guided by care
May 14, 2026
Max Wilson, a University of Cincinnati College of Allied Health Sciences health sciences major on the pre-physician assistant track, found his path expanding beyond the classroom and into hands-on research focused on human performance and patient care.
New cohort of nursing students get ready to join co-ops
May 14, 2026
A new chapter is beginning for more than 100 University of Cincinnati College of Nursing rising seniors as they embark on one of the most distinctive experiences in undergraduate nursing education: the UC Nursing Co-op Program. The incoming cohort will fan out across Cincinnati's premier healthcare institutions, stepping into some of the most dynamic and specialized clinical environments in the region. Placement sites include UC Medical Center (UCMC), West Chester Hospital, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) Burnet, College Hill, and Liberty campus.
Is a colonoscopy painful?
May 13, 2026
The University of Cincinnati's Susan Kais, MD, assistant professor of clinical medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in the College of Medicine and UC Health gastroenterologist, recently appeared on the ARC Cincinnati morning program on Local 12/WKRC-TV to answer common questions from viewers about colonoscopies and to dispel myths.