Precision Vaccines Network Summer 2022 Newsletter

QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER SUMMER 2022 ISSUE
WHAT'S INSIDE THIS EDITION
Welcome
Clinical Infectious Disease (CID) Supplement Upcoming Conferences New PVP Members
PVP is Hiring
PVP Updates
PVP In The News
PVN Publications
Welcome
Welcome to the Summer 2022 edition of the Precision Vaccines Network quarterly newsletter. As we look towards the fall season, we reflect on how vaccinology has contributed to a return to school and work routines that are much closer to normal. Yet challenges remain. Coronavirus continues to kill ~1,000 people a day across the globe - a toll that may rise in the fall and winter months; new variants of concerns may emerge; and newly resurgent infectious diseases such as monkeypox have spread. There still remains a need to discover, develop and improve versions of vaccines with suboptimal effectiveness and/or durability (e.g., influenza and pertussis vaccines) as well as novel vaccines protecting against common infections (e.g., HIV, RSV). Vaccine hesitancy and resistance continue to limit the beneficial impact of vaccines and the threat of a new pandemic remains. Join us in this collaborative network as we partner to meet these key challenges.
We invite you to continue reading for updates on the Precision Vaccines Program (PVP) and highlights of upcoming events and opportunities within the PVN.


Clinical Infectious Disease Supplement
Inspired by the 3rd biennial International Precision Vaccines Conference in 2021, a newly published Clinical Infectious Disease journal supplement "Precision Vaccines: Lessons Learned from the Coronavirus Pandemic" highlights key principles of precision vaccinology applied to vaccine discovery, development, and implementation. The supplement is a remarkable collection of articles on work many of our PVN members are doing.
Link to Supplement
Upcoming Conferences
Mark your calendars for the 4th International Precision Vaccines Conference which will be held 05-07 October 2023 at the Parco dei Principi Hotel in Rome Italy and co-hosted by the PVP and Dr. Paolo Palma’s team from Children’s Hospital Bambino Gesù.
The 2023 conference theme is Precision Vaccines: Biomarkers to inform vaccines tailored to vulnerable populations.
Keep an eye out on PVP's social media platforms and for a separate PVN email in the coming weeks regarding details and registration information.
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Upcoming Conferences (cont.)
The World Vaccine Congress is an award-winning series of conferences and exhibitions that have grown to become the largest and most established vaccine meeting of its kind across the globe. Now in its 23rd year the World Vaccine Congress Europe brings in experts from the whole vaccines value chain under one roof. PVN members Drs. Ofer Levy, Joann Arce and Paolo Palma are part of this expert pool and scheduled to present at this event. Through our partnership with WVC, we can offer a discounted rate of 20% off registration. Use code PVP25 at checkout.
Register HERE
OPTIMMUNIZE 2022
Odense, Denmark - November 9-11, 2022
The goal of this conference is to gather eminent international research scientists, policy makers, journal editors and major foundations to engage in open-minded and fulsome discussions surrounding non- specific and sex-differential effects of vaccines, and how emerging knowledge may be applied to advance public health.
Register HERE
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Precision Vaccines Program
Welcomes New Members to the Team
Kimia Abedi Research Assistant I
Kevin Ryff Research Assistant I
Danica Dong Research Assistant I
Caitlin Syphurs Biostatistician I
Rajesh Kampa Research Fellow II
Daniel Viera Research Assistant I
Aisling Kelly Research Assistant I
Kristina Walker Research Assistant I
Precision Vaccines Program Is Hiring! Interested in joining our team or know someone who might be? We are
looking to fill the following roles:
Senior Research Administrator Research Project Manager Research Assistant III Research Assistant II Research Assistant I
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Precision Vaccines Program
Updates
A century-old vaccine offers clues for designing the vaccines of tomorrow. It is increasingly recognized that BCG, which is given to prevent early life tuberculosis, a potentially lethal disease, also protects newborns and young infants against unrelated infections by enhancing innate immune responses in early life.
Cell Reports Article: Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccine reprograms human neonatal lipid metabolism in vivo and in vitro
Boston Children's Hospital Feature: Old vaccine, new tricks? Unlocking the BCG vaccine’s potential
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading global cause of death in children under age 5 and lacks an effective vaccine. PVP faculty member Dr. Simon van Haren developed , a new adjuvanted RSV vaccine formulation that protected newborn mice against infection and evoked strong responses in immune cells from human newborns in the laboratory. Results were reported in Nature Communications and featured in Boston Children's Hospital Answers.
The study is supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and Boston Children's Department of Pediatrics.
Congratulations to PVP faculty and Leadership Team Member, Dr. Oludare Odumade for being named to the Boston Combined Residency Program Faculty Teaching Honor Roll for the 2021-22 academic year!
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Precision Vaccines Program
Updates (cont.)
The PVP is one of the founding members of INSIS, an international consortium partnering to characterize causes of vaccine-associated adverse events of special interest (AESIs), define risk factors for developing AESIs, and inform immunization approaches for those with AESI risk factors.
Precision Vaccines Program
In the News
Drs. Simon van Haren & Ofer Levy from PVP interviewed by New Scientist on their recent RSV discovery
PVP director, Dr. Ofer Levy gives his perspective on the Omicron booster to TIME magazine.
NPR interviewed PVP director, Dr. Ofer Levy on the latest booster strategy for Fall 2022.
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Precision Vaccines Network Recent Publications
Precision Vaccines Network members in italics.
Phenotypes of disease severity in a cohort of hospitalized COVID-19 patients: results from the IMPACC study
A. Ozonoff, et. al (Al Ozonoff, Patrice M. Becker, Joann Arce, Nadine Rouphael & IMPACC group members)
Multiple BCG vaccinations for the prevention of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases in type 1 diabetes
D. Faustman et.al. (Denise Faustman)
Why We Need Precision Vaccinology
S. Plotkin. (Stanley Plotkin)
Shaping Neonatal Immunization by Tuning the Delivery of Synergistic Adjuvants via Nanocarriers
S. Barman, et. al. (Soumik Barman, Francesco Borriello, Byron Brook, Maria De Leon, Cali Sweitzer, Manisha Menon, Simon D. van Haren, Dheeraj Soni, Yoshine Saito, Etsuro Nanishi, Ofer Levy, David J. Dowling)
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