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Virology Research Journal
Volume 1 Issue 4 Vaccines World 2017
Notes:
Page 18
November 09-10, 2017 Vienna, Austria
21st World Congress and Exhibition on
VACCINES, VACCINATION & IMMUNIZATION
Universally protective vaccines: A revolution in
modern vaccinology
Geert Vanden Bossche
German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Germany
To eliminate safety risks related to infectivity, inactivated
pathogens and, more suitably, well-characterized
pathogen-derived antigens (Ags) have increasingly been
used as immunogens in ‘modern’ vaccines. The selection
of these Ags is usually based on their capacity to induce
immune responses that ‘correlate’ with natural protection.
These Ags, however, are composed of antigenically variable or
conformation-dependent epitopes (e.g., B cell epitopes) and/
or subject to immunogenetic restriction (e.g., linear, T cell
epitopes). In addition, the immunogenicity of conventional
vaccinal Ags is largely dependent on memory CD4+ T helper
cells. However, activation of the latter upon natural infection
or foreign Ag exposure of genetically predisposed subjects can
occasionally lead to immune pathology. On the other hand,
pathogens have evolved to incorporate into their arsenal of
peptides self-mimicking motifs that are highly conserved
and vulnerable as they are exposed on the surface of infected
or pathologically altered host cells. These Ags, however, are
either not immunogenic or subvert the host immune system.
Hence, they are not used as vaccinal Ags in contemporary
vaccines. We consider that new vaccines enabling immune
targeting of these Ags by MHC-unrestricted memory NK
cells are the new Holy Grail in modern vaccinology.
Biography
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), he was given
the Venia Legendi and subsequently held adjunct faculty appointments at the
University of Hohenheim (Germany), the University of Leuven (Belgium) and
the European Faculty for Environmental Sanitation at the University of Ghent
(Belgium). He then transitioned to the Vaccine Industry to serve various senior
roles in both early and late vaccine development (GSK, Novartis, Solvay). In
2008, he joined the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle to serve as
Senior Program Officer in Vaccine Discovery for Global Health. Furthermore,
he also founded UNIVAC LLC, a start-up vaccine company, and coordinated
the Ebola Vaccine Program on behalf of GAVI. He is now the Head of Vaccine
Development Office at the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) in
Germany. He 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.
Geert Vanden Bossche, Virol Res J 2017, 1:4