 The research findings that pioneered the development of the vaccine began in 1991 by The University of Queensland investigators Jian Zhou and Ian Frazer in Australia .Researchers at UQ found a way to form non-infectious virus-like particles (VLP), which could also strongly activate the immune system.Subsequently, the final form of the vaccine was developed in parallel, by researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center, the University of Rochester, the University of Queensland in Australia, and the U.S. National Cancer Institute.