Conveners
Session 10: Vaccines & Immunology + Novel Methods + AI in Health Research
- Michael Mühlebach
- Torsten Semmler
Background: After the initial outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, other (partially) immune escape variants appeared rapidly highlighting the need to develop a vaccine that offers a broader protection not only against SARS-CoV-2 variants but also to other members of the betacoronavirus genus. Furthermore, the present SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are administered intramuscularly and do not elicit mucosal immunity,...
Nipah virus (NiV) infections pose a serious health risk to humans and livestock in Southeast Asia (SEA). Due to its high fatality rate in humans, the absence of licensed vaccines or therapies, and its likelihood to cause severe outbreaks, NiV has been added to WHO’s Blueprint list of ‘priority diseases’. Here, we developed a bivalent vaccine candidate to protect pigs simultaneously from...
Tuberculosis (TB) continues to represent a significant global health concern, impacting both humans and livestock. Mycobacterium bovis is the causative agent of bovine TB, an important zoonosis, whereas Mycobacterium tuberculosis, an organism adapted to humans, can occasionally cause symptomatic infection in cattle. The formation of granulomas, defined as organized multicellular tissue...
Zoonotic infections during pregnancy, especially those involving the central nervous system, are associated with an increased risk for neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring. Listeria monocytogenes is a key example, with prenatal exposure linked to long-term neurological impairments. To investigate underlying pathogenic mechanisms, we employed a human induced pluripotent stem cell...
Volatile organic compounds in exhaled breath reflect metabolic alterations during viral infection, offering potential for rapid SARS-CoV-2 detection. We developed an online gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) method for direct breath analysis from 119 participants with RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19 status. Participants breathed directly into the GC-IMS instrument (STEP, Pockau,...
Microbial Risk Analysis (MRA)—comprising risk assessment, risk management, and risk communication—plays a pivotal role in protecting public health and ensuring food safety across the globe. Yet, the accelerating transformation of food systems, the emergence of novel microbial hazards, and the growing recognition of One Health interdependencies increasingly challenge the effectiveness of...
