ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- If you've ever received a flu vaccine and still found yourself sick, experts say outdated methods may be to blame. 

"Although we picked the right thing, we can't always control what it does when we manufacture it into a vaccine," said Dr. David Topham, an Immunology Expert at The University of Rochester.

Currently, researchers base vaccines off of strains that hit the Southern Hemisphere during their winter.

"And then they say, 'this looks like the predominate strain, we should make a vaccine against it because that's what will come north during the winter in the north,'" said Dr. Matthew Davis who is the Lead Researcher at Rochester Clinical Research.

"It's not that the vaccine today isn't protective, it's that that protection is variable and unpredictable," said Topham.

Experts say that the strain used to create this year's flu vaccine underwent a mutation lessening it's degree of effectiveness. Now researchers are looking to create a new vaccine that would protect more people against more strains and even against potential mutations.

"We have a lot more expertise, we have better technology to really understand what's going on when the vaccine fails and also when it works," said Topham.

"The idea would be to protect against strains of influenza that haven't even, you know, been created yet," said Davis.

Rochester Clinical Research is one of five sites across America that is currently conducting a clinical trial on a universal flu vaccine. Researchers are studying how influenza effects individuals and more specifically how their immune systems were affected by the strains they encountered as a child.

"I think that information will lead to a better understanding of how people respond to flu and how we can formulate a vaccine that will be far more protective," said Topham.

The goal is to create a vaccine that would protect 75% of people against all strains of the flu. Experts say that would be enough to make influenza a thing of the past, similar to mumps, measles or rubella.

"So that's a pretty lofty goal, but there are technologies out there that we may be able to achieve that," said Topham.

"It would really eliminate influenza as a major health threat," said Davis.

The preliminary study is slated to continue into next year's flu season after which it will undergo broad based testing. Experts say if everything goes according to plan a universal vaccine will be available to the public as soon as 2023.

"If it works, it will be a game changer," said Davis.

Rochester Clinical Research is still accepting volunteers to participate in their clinical trial.

If you are a healthy adult between the ages of 18-to-39 and did not receive a flu shot this year, you can call 585-288-0890 or go to the Rochester Clinical Research Website.