Tag Archive: vaccine

1. EAVI2020 continues the fight | World AIDS Day 2021

   1st December 2021 9:15 am Leave a Comment

   For World AIDS Day 2021, the EAVI2020 clinicians and researchers are shedding a light on the EAVI2020 clinical trials that aim to help accelerate the search for an effective HIV vaccine. Every year on 1st December since 1988, World AIDS Day is an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of the HIV virus. According to WHO, since the beginning of the pandemic, 36.3 million people have lost their lives and it was estimated that there were 37.7 million people living with HIV at the end of 2020, over two thirds of whom (25.4 million) are in the WHO African Region.

   It is a day to remember those who have perished due to AIDS and that international research projects such as EAVI2020, are continuing the fight to find an effective vaccine for the HIV virus that has so far evaded eradication for the past 30+ years. Learn more about EAVI2020’s clinical trials and what the dedicated consortium of researchers and clinicians aim to achieve.

   Click on each image to find out about EAVI2020’s clinical trials.

   

   HIV-CORE 0051

   

   HIV-CORE 0052

   

   EAVI2020-3SM

   

   EAVI2020-01

   

   BCN03

   Follow World AIDS Day campaigns on Twitter with #Rocktheribbon

   To donate and show your support, go to the National AIDS Trust website

2. EAVI2020 quarterly newsletter | April 2021

   27th April 2021 11:48 am Leave a Comment

   Download the April 2021 newsletter (.pdf)

    

   In this issue:

   • EAVI2020 receives extension and clinical trials resume
   • EAVI2020 consortium at HIVR4P
   • Students in Focus: Narcís Saubi, Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR)
   • Publications with EAVI2020
   • EAVI2020 out and about: International Women’s Day
   • HIV/AIDS news: COVID-19 disruptions to HIV prevention could increase new infections amongst men
   • Other news: EAVI2020 lead investigator, Prof Robin Shattock profiled in The Lancet

    

   Foreword from Robin 

   Following a challenging year in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic the consortium is excited to be progressing again at full speed.

   We were delighted to receive a no cost extension from the EU that will allow us to complete our full programme of research and make up for delays caused by multiple lockdowns across the EU. We continue to invest in the training and mentorship of gifted young researchers to ensure a rich talent pool for the future, some of whom are highlighted in this newsletter. In our final year we are conducting seven clinical trials to evaluate ten new vaccine candidates, demonstrating an unprecedented level of translation from discovery to clinical evaluation. Our clinical trials are underpinned by an integrated approach designed to maximise our understanding of human immunity to vaccination and the pathways for driving B and T cell breadth to combat the extraordinary diversity of circulating HIV strains. These studies will be the culmination of our discovery program, will significantly expand scientific understanding and provide a pipeline of products with potential for moving into later stage product development. The entire EAVI2020 team are galvanised around maximising the potential of our discovery program and building a sustainable legacy for HIV vaccine research in the EU.

   Professor Robin Shattock
   EAVI2020 coordinator and on behalf of the EAVI2020 consortium

   Read the rest of the newsletter here

3. In Pictures: EAVI2020 for World AIDS Day 2019

   16th December 2019 3:49 pm Leave a Comment

   HIV continues to be a major global public health issue, having claimed more than 32 million lives so far (WHO). In the lead up to World AIDS Day 2019, EAVI2020 researchers reminded us of the necessity for an effective HIV vaccine.

4. A vaccine revolution. Where do we begin?

   28th June 2019 4:45 pm Leave a Comment

   EAVI2020 coordinator, Prof Robin Shattock lead the recent Imperial Global Science Policy Forum which focussed on global challenges surrounding vaccines and the latest research in vaccine technology.

   EAVI coordinator, Prof Robin Shattock presented at the recent Imperial Global Science Policy Forum in May 2019; a high-profile network which hosts a programme of events focussing on some of the most important global challenges. The theme for this iteration focussed on contemporary challenges of vaccine development.

   “Vaccination is one of the most effective medical interventions ever introduced”

   Prof. Robin Shattock

   As director of the Future Vaccine Manufacturing Research (FMV) Hub, which is looking to transform how we manufacture vaccines for developing countries, Robin spoke about the main challenges in the current landscape, which include antibiotic resistance, cost of manufacturing, and public awareness and push back. This led to a mapping of the strategies FMV Hub have put in place to tackle these challenges. He detailed how a revolutionary model of vaccine development and distribution – a hub-and-spoke model as a simplified description – will produce benefits and impact from global to local levels.

   

   “Rise in antibiotic resistance is increasingly becoming a problem”.

   Prof Robin Shattock

   Robin was joined by fellow researchers from Imperial also bringing forth their innovative studies to vaccine development, Professor Wendy Barclay from Virology and Professor Jason Hallet from Natural Resource Engineering. The presentations were delivered in PechaKucha format; a simple presentation style where the images advance automatically after 20 seconds and presenters talk along to the images. This was effective and connected the audiences to the content and to each speaker.

   “Vaccine discovery and development is a very risky business…[but] we are already beginning to make a difference in vaccine technology”

   Prof Robin Shattock

   

   Robin thus gave a speedy but succinct 6-minute presentation on the establishment of international collaborations aimed to accelerate the search for an effective HIV vaccine. Much like the work going on in EAVI2020 this involves preclinical identification, development and selection of HIV microbicide and vaccine candidates.

   Go to the website for more information on the strategies, impact and benefit of the Future Vaccine Manufacturing Research (FMV) Hub.

5. Online ePanel discussion and SciTalk presentations on HIV research with EAVI2020 partners

   29th June 2017 5:09 pm Leave a Comment

   The eAccess Meetings project

   In 2016, The Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise and Keystone Symposia inaugurated a collaboration to produce an ePanel discussion and series of SciTalks presentations that brought together key experts in the HIV prevention vaccine field.

   Following the great response to the inaugural video series, to which EAVI2020 also contributed with two presentations, the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise in collaboration with Keystone Symposia has now presented the second series of eAccess Meetings: 2017 Keystone Symposia on HIV Vaccines.

   EAVI2020’s participates in an ePanel discussion and SciTalks presentations

   As part of the eAccess Meetings project, EAVI2020 participated in an ePanel discussion on Antibody Functions Beyond Neutralization with Prof Robin Shattock as a panellist (Imperial College) and Dr Gabriella Scarlatti (Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise) as moderator.

   The ePanel discussion is available online and can be found on the Enterprise web portal or on their YouTube Channel playlist.

   

   Additionally, Gunilla Karlsson Hedestam and Paola Martinez Murillo (Karolinska Institutet) also participated in the SciTalks with presentations on “Individualized profiling of germline antibody V genes” and “F9, a new class of antibodies that neutralizes autologous tier 2 viruses in NHP immunized with liposome conjugated well-ordered trimers”.

   SciTalks can also be accessed on the Enterprise web portal or on their YouTube Channel playlist.

   

    

   More information

   eAccess Meetings: 2017 Keystone Symposia on HIV Vaccines.

   For more information about EAVI2020, please contact us.

6. EAVI2020’s third course on HIV immunology and vaccines

   25th April 2017 12:00 pm Leave a Comment

   On 23-26 April 2017, EAVI2020 celebrated its Third PhD course on HIV immunology and vaccines.

   The course was organised by project partners Karolinska Institutet and Fundació Clinic per a la Recerca Biomèdica and took place at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm.

   The topics that were discussed included How to write a grant application,  how to be involved in  Responsible research and innovation activities,  examples of humanitarian action beyond the bench and after PhD, how to transmit the scientific results to the general population and of course scientific issues focuses on  HIV vaccines immunology. The course also included a Workshop on hepatitis, cancer vaccines and adjuvants.

   The students were enthusiastic and motivated active participants, which contributed to making a success of the course!

   More information

   For more information about EAVI2020 and our training courses, please contact us.

7. EAVI2020 at the Keystone Symposia on HIV vaccines, 26-31 March 2017

   11th April 2017 10:26 am Leave a Comment

   EAVI2020’s partner institutions presented the latest research on HIV vaccines at the Keystone Symposia on HIV vaccines.

   As part of the Keystone Symposia Global Health Series, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the HIV vaccines series took place on the 26-31 March 2017 in Colorado, USA.

   Despite great progress in preventing and treating HIV, new infections continue to plague communities around the world, and the need for an HIV vaccine is as urgent as ever. Several large cohorts of HIV-infected individuals have enabled tremendous advances over the past five years in understanding immune responses to natural HIV infection. These advances have included the isolation of broad and potent anti-HIV antibodies, defining their developmental pathways, the generation of native-like Env trimers for immunization, and high-resolution structures of the envelope glycoprotein in complex with bnAbs. By 2017, many of these discoveries will have enabled new concepts to transition into human clinical trials, including passive monoclonal antibody therapy and novel immunization approaches. These platforms, incorporating improved technology for monitoring immune responses, will drive major advances in the vaccine field. This HIV Vaccines meeting will present the latest results from human clinical studies, along with the cutting-edge basic science behind such trials to highlight approaches that may lead to an HIV vaccine, and also reveal the molecular underpinnings of B and T cell-mediated immunity.

   EAVI2020 at the Keystone Symposia

   EAVI2020 partners gave presentations on the latest research developments under EAVI2020 on topics like DNA Vaccination for Experimental Medicine Trials of HIV Vaccines (R. Shattock, Imperial), Inducing HIV-1 Neutralizing Antibodies with Native-Like Envelope Trimers (R. Sanders, AMC), Individualized Profiling of Germline V Genes and Application to Env Trimer Immunogenicity Studies in NHPs (G. Karlsson Hedestam, Karolinska Institutet) and ADCC and Beyond (S. Kent, University of Melbourne).

   EAVI2020’s PhD student Yoann Aldon also gave a poster presentation on HIV vaccines management.

   More information

   Full programme and for more information on the Keystone Symposia on HIV vaccines.

   For more information about EAVI2020, please contact us.

   

   G. Karlsson Hedestam and R. Sanders.

8. 2nd Phd training course, Barcelona, 9 Nov 2016

   23rd November 2016 10:29 am Leave a Comment

   Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica and Karolinska Institutet organised the Second course on HIV immunology and vaccines in Barcelona, 9th November 2016.

   Twenty four students from all over Europe joined this advanced training session on HIV immunology and vaccines for top PhD students across Europe hosted by the School of Medicine, University of Barcelona.

   EAVI2020 principal investigators lead the presentations and discussions and, as part of the training, PhD students prepared poster presentations, which were displayed for over 70 people at the EAVI2020 first annual meeting on the 10th and 11th November 2016.

     

   For more information about EAVI2020, please contact us.

    

9. EAVI2020 at the “Toolkits for DNA vaccine design, an update” conference in Moscow

   21st November 2016 1:10 pm Leave a Comment

   17-21 November 2016

   Dr Joan Joseph from Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica presented lessons learned on “Pre-clinical development of recombinant BCG based HIV vaccine” at the event, which took place at the Mechninov´s Institute of Vaccine and Sera in Moscow from the 17th to 21st November 2016.

   The conference covered the whole area of DNA vaccine design starting from gene design, defining of transcription and translation signals, packaging, delivery, induction of innate immune response and role of adjuvants, induction and expansion of adaptive immune response, prime and boost strategies, success of DNA vaccines in cancer and infectious diseases, comparison of DNA vaccines to other vaccine modalities.

   Representatives of R&D companies and state agencies involved in the development, production and distribution of vaccines were also invited to discuss the business models for DNA vaccines, public perception of the vaccines and their perspectives for human and veterinarian use.

   More information on the International Conference “Toolkits for DNA vaccine design, an update”.

10. EAVI2020’s first year of research!

    8th November 2016 2:36 pm Leave a Comment

    Coinciding with the project’s one year anniversary, we are excited to publish the fourth issue of the EAVI2020 Newsletter!

    In this issue we have covered our upcoming EAVI2020 first annual meeting and 2nd PhD course on HIV vaccines and immunology.

    You can also find links to international HIV related papers and a list of upcoming events where you will find us.

    Sign-up to receive EAVI2020’s quarterly Newsletter and find out about the latest project developments as they arise!

    The EAVI2020 team at work this past year!: