The invention relates to a method for rapid immunogen selection (RIS) based capable of eliciting neutralizing antibodies based on the binding a library of recombinant viruses containing randomized variants of a surface polypeptide displayed to said neutralizing antibodies. The invention relates as well to the use of the immunogens isolated according to the RIS method of the invention in medicine for the treatment of diseases caused by a virus and in diagnosis for the identification of neutralizing antibodies in a patient.
