The design, production, delivery and preclinical evaluation of mRNA therapeutics, mRNA vaccines and cancer immunotherapies are the cornerstones of Niek Sanders' team. The team is one of the world leaders in the design & production of mRNA vaccines and therapeutics. In 2015 they were the first to publish that the incorporation of N(1)-methylpseudouridine into synthetic mRNAs drastically reduced the innate immunity of mRNA and improved its translation. This modification was critical for the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Since 2019 the team also focus on novel delivery systems for mRNA. This broad expertise enabled the group to initiate several ongoing projects. Specifically, the team is evaluating mRNA-based immunotherapies and vaccines against cancer, viral and bacterial infections. In addition, mRNAs encoding therapeutic proteins are being produced and applied in a variety of fields.