Vaccines & Vaccination

Dennis Christensen is a Head of Vaccine Delivery and Formulation Research Section at Statens Serum Institut. He is responsible for the vaccine formulation research. Designing novel vaccine delivery systems based on liposomes and research within mechanistic understanding of the vaccine delivery systems with relation to immunological efficacy.

• The use of liposomes and emulsions as delivery systems for immunostimulators and vaccine antigens. • Examination of how physicochemical properties of liposomes, emulsions and antigens as well as different delivery and delivery routing routes may affect the immunological result.

Dr. Frédéric Deschamps is a medical doctor since 1990 and he has completed his PhD of toxicology in 1993 at the University of Lille, France. He is the director of the Department of Occupational Health of the Medicine Faculty of Reims, France. He has published more than 40 papers in medical journals about occupational health and diseases.

Flu vaccines

Dr. Masoud H Manjili is an Associate Professor of Immunology at the Department of Microbiology Immunology Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and Member of Massey Cancer Center Richmond VA. He conducted his postdoctoral fellowship at Roswell Park Cancer Institute Buffalo NY 1999-2003. He has received a PhD in Immunology from The University of Sydney Australia 1993-1996. He has received a DVM from The University of Tehran Iran 1983-1990. He is serving as a Managing Editor of Frontiers in Bioscience.

Immunotherapy of tumor dormancy, Re-programming tumor-immune crosstalk to overcome tumor escape, Prognostic biomarkers for cancer, The adaptation model of immunity

Brian Abel received his Ph.D. in 2006 at the ETH, Zurich, and thereafter conducted a postdoctoral fellowship at SATVI, University of Cape Town, where he oversaw the immunological assessment of a novel TB vaccine in clinical trials and contributed to TB biomarker discovery. Brian completed an MBA at Tel Aviv University and ISB, Hyderabad, to facilitate a transition from academia into translational roles in biomedical science. Brian joined SIgN in 2012 to manage the Immunomonitoring Platform, conducting business development, project management and supporting finalization of agreements with industry partners, as well as acquiring regulatory approval for clinical research. He is also actively involved in Platform technology development in order to keep it up to date with the latest advances in the field of Immunomonitoring. In August 2016, Brian became the Head of the Immunogenomics Core to support and drive genomic activities for SIgN's researchers and facilitate collaborations with industry partners.

He is actively involved in Platform technology development in order to keep it up to date with the latest advances in the field of Immunomonitoring.

Pierre A. MORGON is Chief Executive Officer of MRGN Advisors, a consultancy dedicated to the healthcare sector, and Regional Partner for Switzerland at Mérieux Développement, an evergreen investment structure focused on medical devices, in vitro diagnostics and patient management services. He is also Chairman of the Board of Virometix (developing proprietary synthetic nanoparticle platform in vaccines and immunotherapeutic drugs for viral diseases and cancer), Non-Executive Director to the Board of Theradiag (focusing on in vitro diagnostics in auto-immunity, infectious diseases and allergy) and Non-Executive Director to the Board of Eurocine Vaccines (developing intra nasal vaccines). He holds a Doctorate of Pharmacy, a Master in Business Law and a MBA..

developing proprietary synthetic nanoparticle platform in vaccines and immunotherapeutic drugs for viral diseases and cancer. Focusing on in vitro diagnostics in auto-immunity, infectious diseases and allergy. Developing intra nasal vaccines.

Mark Tomai, PhD currently works in Business Development at 3M Drug Delivery Systems. He is responsible for licensing/development agreements involving its transdermal product offerings including 3M’s microneedle platform and also licensing its toll-like receptor (TLR) 7 and 8 agonists for a variety of uses. Dr. Tomai spent 16 years working in 3M Pharmaceuticals in Drug Discovery and Preclinical Development. He is an expert on TLR7 and TLR8 agonists and an author on over 80 publications and inventor on 12 issued patents in this area.

TLR7 and TLR8 agonists

Professor Barry Buckland has a PhD in Biochemical Engineering from University College London, obtained in 1974. He joined the Merck Research Laboratories (MRL) in 1980 and built a world class Bioprocess R&D group. He has been the leader of process development of all biologically made product candidates within the MRL pipeline and manufacture of Clinical Supplies during the past 20 years.Dr. Buckland has over 70 publications in Peer reviewed journals. Dr. Buckland holds PhD in Biochemical Engineering at University College London, in 1974. He has a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Manchester, UK.

Barry Buckland is an experienced International expert for the Development of Biologic products with a special focus on vaccines and Therapeutic proteins.

Dr. Gay obtained a B.Sc. in Chemistry and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Auburn University, and a Ph.D. in Microbiology from The George Washington University. Dr. Gay has worked in the animal health research field for the last 25 years holding several positions of increasing responsibility in the federal government and the pharmaceutical industry. As Chief, Biotechnology Section, Center for Veterinary Biologics (CVB), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Dr. Gay developed the procedures for licensing molecular vaccines that led to the first license for a live recombinant vectored vaccine. In the pharmaceutical industry (SmithKline Beecham Animal Health and Pfizer Animal Health) Dr. Gay led several cross-functional teams that successfully developed and licensed veterinary vaccines for companion animals and livestock. As Director, Global Product Development, Pfizer Inc., Dr. Gay developed strategic and tactical plans that interfaced R&D, clinical development, manufacturing, marketing, and product life-cycle management. Dr. Gay joined Agricultural Research Service (ARS), USDA, in 2002. Dr. Gay currently holds the position of Senior National Program Leader and provides program direction and national coordination for the Department’s intramural animal health research program, with focus on eight research laboratories located in Ames, Iowa, East Lansing, Michigan, Clay Center, Nebraska, Athens, Georgia, Orient Point, New York, Beltsville, Maryland, Pullman, Washington, and Manhattan, Kansas. Dr. Gay was the 2010 recipient of the USDA Secretary’s Honors Award for interagency response to the pandemic H1N1 influenza outbreak, and the ARS Special Administrator’s Award for outstanding and rapid research support for pandemic H1N1.

H1N1 influenza

In 2001 Dr Rob Lambkin-Williams designed and implemented the first Human Viral Challenge Study to be conducted in Europe in the 21st century. He has designed and supervised in excess of 40 studies conducted at Retroscreen Virology since 2001, and has been the Principal Investigator on many. Rob joined Retroscreen Virology in 1995 as a Senior Scientist and is now the Chief Scientific Officer. Rob completed his PhD in Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) at the University of Warwick in 1993 - long before it became a popular news item. He often is the first media point-of-contact regarding Avian Influenza and other virus-related topics. Rob is an expert in respiratory viruses and HIV; he has co-authored many papers including a recent paper in the Nature Medicine journal, which has reset our understanding of the immune response to Influenza, and forms the basis of the RSV’s recent patent application for a universal Influenza vaccine. One of Rob’s key achievements was the establishment of the RSV Human Viral Challenge Model that led to the first proof of concept of a new type of therapeutic agent (known as a siRNA) against an infectious disease. He was the senior author on the paper that described the establishment of the model, which was published in the prestigious American Thoracic Society’s Blue Journal. Other notable achievements include the first study to demonstrate the efficacy of a novel DNA-based vaccine against Influenza, and also a series of studies that dissected the human body’s early response to infection and thus could help develop new highly sensitive diagnostic techniques or antiviral targets.

Antiviral and vaccine drug developmen

Dr. Pascal Breton, Ph.D. serves as Chief Executive Officer of VitamFero S.A. and has been its President since January 2009. His Interest in various fields includes Biotechnology, R&D, Business Development, Drug Development, Pharma/Clinical Development, Drug Discovery and Formulation and Vaccines. Before founding and heading VitamFero, Dr. Pascal Breton worked as Global Key Account Manager Biotech at SGS Life Science Services (Belgium), Director Business Development at IDM Pharma (France and USA), Director R&D at Halisol (France) and Project Leader at UPSA (a French BMS subsidiary). Dr. Pascal Breton holds a Ph.D. from University of Orléans (France) in 1989

Biotechnology, R&D Business Development, Drug Development, Clinical Development, Drug Discovery, Vaccines.

Nathalie Garçon, PharmD, PhD is currently the chief executive (CEO) and scientific officer (CSO) of BIOASTER. She joined BIOASTER, the French technology research institute for infectiology and microbiology as chief scientific officer in July 2014.In this role, Dr Garcon directs the scientific aspect of the institute with the objective of accelerating the access to new technologies in infectious diseases that patient can benefit from. She was promoted to CEO in April 2015.Following the successfulcompletion of two PhDs, one in biological pharmacy and the other in immunotoxicology and immunopharmacology, Dr Garçon moved to the UK for 1 year as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Royal Free Hospital in London, undertakingresearch on liposomes in vaccines. She then moved to the USA where she spent 4 years at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, first as a postdoctoral research fellow, then as assistant professor, working on vaccine delivery systems and immunopotentiators. Dr Garçon joined SmithKline Beecham Biologicals now GlaxoSmithKline vaccines in 1990, where she set up and led the vaccine adjuvant and formulation group. She moved from this position, to head of technologies, head of research, vicepresident, head of global research and north America RD; and vice president, head of the global adjuvants and delivery systems centre for vaccines. In her last role within GSK vaccines before joining BIOASTER, Dr Garçon hold the position of vicepresident, head of adjuvants and technologies innovation centre, she provides leadership within GSK Biologicals in the fields of new vaccines technologies, from discovery to registration and commercialisation. Nathalie Garçon is Vice Presidentand Head of Global Adjuvant and technologies innovation centre at GSK vaccines Dr Garçon expertise in vaccinology extends from research to manufacturing, in particular immunology, adjuvant, formulation and innovation technologies, analyticalmethods, pre-clinical experimentation and toxicology/safety evaluation, regulatory and licensure and testing. Dr Garçon is the 2014 laureate of the Stanley Plotkin award for vaccines and vaccine technologies. She has authored over 60 papers andbook chapters, is the editor of several books, and sit at the scientific committee of several journals. She holds more than 100 patents.

vaccine adjuvant, Vaccine delivery systems and immunopotentiators.

Ger Rijkers (1952) is a medical immunologist and professor in Biomedical and Life Sciences at Utrecht University. He is the head of the Science Department of University College Roosevelt in Middelburg, The Netherlands. He also works as a senior scientist at the Laboratory of Medical Microbiology and Immunology of the St. Antonius Hospital in Nieuwegein. Ger Rijkers has a broad research interest with emphasis on mucosal immunology, immunoregulation (in autoimmune diseases, allergic diseases and infections), interaction between gut microbiota and the immune system, and, last but not least, vaccination. Rijkers has published over 300 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals. He published (as editor in chief) the textbook “Immunologie” (ISBN978 90 313 4263 1). He is member of the Editorial Board of Beneficial Microbes and of Pneumonia.

Ger Rijkers has a wide research interest with emphasis on mucosal immunology, immunoregulation (in autoimmune diseases, allergic diseases and infections), interaction between gut microbiota and the immune system, and vaccination.

Geert Vanden Bossche obtained his DVM at the Veterinary Faculty of Ghent and his PhD in Virology at the University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart. Following his postdoctoral training in Virology, Immunology and Molecular Biology at the Free University of Berlin and the University of Hohenheim (Germany), where he subsequently held adjunct faculty appointments, he transitioned to the Vaccine Industry to serve various senior roles in both early and late vaccine development. He then joined the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle to serve as Senior Program Officer in Vaccine Discovery for Global Health. Furthermore, Geert also founded UNIVAC, coordinated the Ebola Vaccine Program on behalf of GAVI and serves as a visiting scientist at the REGA Institute, University of Leuven (Belgium). Geert is board certified in Virology and Microbiology, the author of over 30 publications, and inventor on a patent application for universal vaccines. He has presented vaccine- and adjuvant-related topics at multiple international congresses.

Vaccine adjuvants, critical assessment of novel vaccine approaches or technologies, Vaccine development, immunopathogenesis of infectious and immune-mediated, noninfectious disease.

Eduard Karamov, PhD., DrSc, is involved in retrovirology research since 1985. The first Russian HIV strain was isolated in his laboratory. He supervised the development of first diagnostic tests for HIV, which were widely used in USSR and Russia, and antivirals used for AIDS treatment. He published over 100 articles in scientific journals and made over 100 presentations at international conferences and symposia. Professor Karamov authored four monographs and a textbook on virology. He was a supervisor in sixteen Ph.D. and Dr.Sci. fellowships. His lab served as a probation site for many scientists of the former USSR and Eastern Europe. He was a member of the Advisory Board of the Russian AIDS Vaccine Program. He is a member of the Vaccine Advisory Committee (VAC) of WHO and a UNAIDS scientific expert panellist. He is an academic editor of Medicine and a member of the Editorial Board of AIDS and Lancet HIV, as well as of several Russian peer-reviewed journals. He serves as a Chairman of the Biomedical Commission of the Committee for Science and Innovation of the State Duma of the Russian Federation. His honours and awards include: Award of the USSR Council of Ministers 1981, USSR Exhibition of Economic Achievements Medals (Silver 1986, Gold 1988), Science Award of the Government of the Russian Federation, 2008, Zhdanov Award of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, 2009, and Gold Cross of the Federal Medico-Biological Agency of Russia, 2012.

Antivirals, Vaccines, Molecular epidemiology of HIV, HIV prevention