Vaccines, Vaccination and Immunization

Michael G. Hanna is the founder of Vaccinogen and the discoverer and developer of OncoVAX® an autologous vaccine designed to provoke a specific immune response against colon cancer cells. His previous accomplishments include Chairman (Emeritus) and Chief Scientific Officer of Intracel Resources, Chief Operating Officer of Organon Teknika/Biotechnology Research Institute and Sr. Vice President of Organon Teknika Corporation. Prior to that (1975-1982) Michael G. Hanna was Director of the National Cancer Institute, Frederick Cancer Research Center. OncoVAX® is an autologous vaccine designed to provoke a specific immune response against colon cancer cells. The product is comprised of irradiated tumor cells obtained from the patient after surgery and it is administered along with the BCG vaccine. Vaccinogen believes OncoVAX® is the first product to show a significant reduction in recurrence of disease in Stage II colon cancer patients in a major, long-term clinical trial. Except for surgery, there is no medically accepted treatment for Stage II colon cancer. Trials using adjuvant chemotherapy have not demonstrated any patient benefit to date. He led the team that achieved FDA regulatory approval of TICE BCG for treatment of carcinoma in situ (CIS) bladder cancer. Worldwide registration was achieved in 1991 and it is standard of care for prophylaxis of recurrence of superficial bladder cancer and therapy of CIS. He received a doctoral degree in experimental pathology and immunology from the University of Tennessee. He has over 225 publications to his credit, has 11 patents in immunotherapy and has been the recipient of numerous honors, and served on many editorial boardsBiography

Vaccinogen Inc., USA Discoverer - Developer, OncoVAX® Director, Frederick Cancer Research Center (1975-1983)

Professor Allan Cripps is recognised internationally for his research in the field of mucosal immunology. Much of this work has been directed towards mucosal immunisation against a range of bacterial pathogens, particularly those of the respiratory tract. He has published extensively in the peer reviewed literature, presented his research findings at numerous international scientific and medical conferences and has been the recipient of a large number of competitive government and industry research grants. In addition, Professor Cripps has a significant patent portfolio in the fields of diagnostics and vaccine protein antigens. Professor Cripps joined Griffith University in May 2003 where he has been responsible for the establishment of the University’s School of Medicine and Health Faculty. He is currently the executive head of the Health Faculty at Griffith and maintains his keen interest in mucosal immunology and respiratory tract infections. He is also the Editor in Chief of the journal pneumonia and is an active member of a number of committees and Boards in the fields of immunology, infectious diseases and vaccinology.

Mucosal immunology

Dr. De-chu Christopher Tang is the Founder of VaxDome LLC and Vaxin Inc. He obtained his PhD in Microbiology from Indiana University in 1989. He carried out his postdoctoral work at Baylor College of Medicine, Duke University, and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He joined the faculty at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in 1994; subsequently founded Vaxin Inc. on UAB campus in 1997; and was responsible for Vaxin’s daily operation as the Chief Scientific Officer until 2012. Dr. Tang was one of the pioneers during the development of DNA vaccines, noninvasive skin-patch vaccines, adenovirus-vectored nasal vaccines, adenovirus-vectored poultry vaccines, as well as the protective innate-adaptive immunity duo platform technology. He received the Wallace H. Coulter Award for innovation and entrepreneurship in 2000; and Vaxin Inc. was selected as a Tech Museum Awards Laureate in 2007. Dr. Tang was selected as a Distinguished Overseas Scientist by the South Korea KOFST Brain Pool Program in 2012; subsequently joined Chung-Ang University and IVI in Seoul; and was appointed as a Scientist at IVI after the Brain Pool Program Award expired in 2013. He founded VaxDome LLC in Birmingham, Alabama, USA in 2014.

His special interests include treatment of the common cold, prophylaxis and treatment of infections in transplant recipients, and hepatitis C virus epidemiology.

Development of vaccines to prevent chlamydial infections Traditional vaccine approaches have been unsuccessful in preventing chlamydial infections. We have used novel DNA vaccination and bioinformatics approaches to identify protective chlamydial antigens that are conserved across several chlamydial species. Using combinations of these antigens we can reduce both the duration and magnitude of infection and reduce infection-associated inflammation that is the cause of infertility in animal models of chlamydial infection. Development of needle-free immunisation methods Novel approaches to vaccination including topical application to skin (transcutaneous immunisation), intranasal immunisation using drops or sprays and sublingual immunisation where vaccines are applied to the buccal epithelium are being investigated as an alternative to the traditional needle-based vaccines. In animal models these approaches can protect against Chlamydia and Helicobacter infections. Affect of chronic chlamydial infections on inflammation and immunity Chlamydia not only infects epithelial cells but can also infect immune cells such as dendritic cells and macrophages. Infection of these immune cells alters their function in a way that not only allows the Chlamydia to persist in the host but also increases the pro-inflammatory immune responses that cause conditions such as asthma.

Mucosal Immunology

Dr. Tarl Prow is the Deputy Director of the Dermatology Research Centre within the School of Medicine and heads a group of 10 researchers focused on nanotechnology and micromedical devices for dermatology. In 2004, Dr. Prow earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas in the field of Nanomedicine. He then completed his NIH-T32 funded fellowship at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and was faculty there until he relocated to the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia in 2007. He is multidisciplinary researcher with internationally recognized expertise in the fields of micro-medical device development, nanodermatology and topical drug delivery. Since joining the University of Queensland, Dr. Prow has published more than 50 peer reviewed manuscripts in top journals with an average impact factor of 6.15. He more than 35 total publications in top ranked journals including Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, Hepatology, Nucleic Acids Research, Biomaterials, Advanced Functional Materials, Small, Nanomedicine and Journal of Controlled Release. Dr. Prow is an inventor on 6 patents and patent applications in the areas of nano- and micro-medical devices. "Skin cancer diagnosis is moving toward more accurate, non-invasive approaches with in vivo imaging techniques at the forefront. My group has worked with clinicians to develop automated image analysis software to identify lesions suspicious for skin cancer. We have developed a stacked 3D microneedle device, MicrobiopsyTM, for instantaneously capturing small pieces of skin from suspicious lesions for molecular analysis. Finally, we have developed and patented a novel platform for field-directed drug delivery, Foroderm™. Together, these technologies are the first step toward quantum improvements in how skin cancer is detected and treated."

Vaccines

Xiaomi Tong, Senior VP & Chief Technology Officer, Protein Sciences Corporation

Vaccines

I am Professor of Virology at the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences and founding member of the Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre at the University of Queensland. A major research interest in my lab is the structure and function of viral proteins and their role in viral pathogenesis and potential as targets for antivirals and diagnostics. These studies focus on two globally important mosquito-borne pathogens, West Nile virus (WNV) and Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) and have recently led to the development of novel vaccine candidates, potent immunotherapy agents and potential new targets for antivirals against WNV and CHIKV.

A major research interest in my lab has been the study of the structure and function of flavivirus proteins with a focus on their role in viral pathogenesis and their potential as targets for antivirals and diagnostics. These studies focus on two globally important mosquito-borne pathogens, West Nile virus and Chikungunya virus. These studies have recently led to the development of novel vaccine candidates, potent immunotherapy agents and potential new targets for antivirals against West Nile virus infection. Another major theme of my research is viral ecology and epidemiology. This includes isolation and genetic characterisation of new arthropod-borne viruses and assessment of their distribution and activity by serological surveys and surveillance. These studies have led to the discovery of several new mosquito-borne viruses in Australia and spawned major projects for the development of novel reagents and methodologies to enhance the accuracy and effectiveness of viral detection and disease diagnosis.

Wu Yuzhang, born in 1963, Shandong Qingzhou, Immunology PhD, Professor, PhD supervisor. Currently the director of Basical Medicine College of Third Military Medical University, director of Institute of Immunology of PLA, director of National Engineering Research Center for biological products, director of National and Local Joint Engineering Labolatory for peptide drugs, director of National Biological Industry Base (Chongqing) pharmaceutical pilot production center. Professor Wu is a pioneer in antigen project field and an academic leader in China’s therapeutic vaccine field. He is the winner of National Outstanding Youth Science Fund, Ministry of Education “Changjiang Scholar” Distinguished Professor, elected to the National New Century Talents Project, enjoying special government allowances, General Logistics Department “Technology Golden Star”, military academies “Yucai Award” Gold Award and other honors. Academic position: Member of the Sixth discipline review group of Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council, member of National Postdoctoral Mobile Station evaluation committee, member of National Pharmacopoeia Committee, biological and medicine department member of the Sixth National Ministry of education science and technology committee, National Natural Science Foundation discipline review group member, National Drug Evaluation Committee expert, New drug innovation National Science and Technology Major Special responsible expert, standing director of Chinese Society of Immunology, council member of Biophysical Society of China, Director of PLA professional committee of Immunology, Standing Committee of the General Logistics Department science and technology committee, chairman of Chongqing Society for Immunology, “Immunological Journal” chief editor and so on.

Vaccines

Dr Alsharifi grew up in Babylon/Iraq and studied Veterinary Medicine at Baghdad University. He was increasingly interested in medical research and after coming to Australia he studied Biomedical Science at Monash University. He then moved to the Australian National University to take up a PhD scholarship at The John Curtin School of Medical Research, and investigated with Arno Müllbacher, Robert Blanden, and Mario Lobigs the immunobiology of an alphavirus infection. During his early years in research he discovered a period of exhaustion in type-I interferon response following an acute viral infection, which may explain the clinically known observation that virus-infected patients are at increased risk to a more sever secondary viral and/or bacterial infection. Following the completion of his PhD studies, he investigated with Prof Müllbacher the possibility of using gamma-irradiated influenza virus as a universal flu vaccine. In 2008, he was awarded the Hanson Fellowship to continue his research into the universal Flu vaccine and also to investigate the possibility of producing other viral vaccines using similar technique to that used for influenza. His flu vaccine research has been featured in the Catalyst program on ABC (http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/2613604.htm), and in many newspaper articles such as (http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,,25625291-5018662,00.html) and (http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,25406694-5006301,00.html).

I. Cross-Protective influenza vaccine. Protection against re-infection with homotypic influenza virus is mediated primarily by neutralizing antibodies but recovery from newly arisen influenza virus infections requires cytotoxic CD8+ T (Tc) cells. While neutralizing antibodies target mainly the viral surface glycoproteins (HA and NA), which are subject to frequent antigenic variation, influenza-immune Tc cells target the more conserved proteins, such as the viral nucleoprotein (NP) and matrix protein. Accordingly, any universal influenza vaccine should have the capability of inducing cross-protective Tc cell responses. We have reported that gamma-irradiated influenza A virus preparations can induce cross-reactive Tc cell responses and shown that a single intranasal administration of g-H1N1 protects mice against lethal avian H5N1 and other heterotypic influenza A infections. potential projects for postgraduate research students would be in the areas of: 1. Cross-protective cytotoxic T cell responses induced by g-flu. 2. The role of the cytolytic effector molecules in recovery from influenza infection. 3. Cross-protective antibody responses induced by g-flu. 4. Recognition of g-flu and the induction of cross-protective immunity. II. Exhaustion of IFN-I response and the susceptibility to secondary infections. We have previously reported that type I interferon (IFN-I) response mediates systemic, partial lymphocyte activation which is evident by elevated expression of CD69 and CD86. Using avirulent strain of Semliki Forest Virus (SFV) as a model, we have found that induction of both IFN-I response and the associated lymphocyte activation to be dependent on virus viability as γ-irradiated SFV (γ-SFV) failed to induce either. We have also reported a period of exhausted IFN-I responses as a result of primary viral infections, which was associated with enhanced susceptibility to a secondary infection with an unrelated virus. Our aim is to investigate the underlying factors responsible for the deficiency in IFN-I responses following acute viral infections, and to address some therapeutic approaches to alleviate the period of the enhanced susceptibility. Interestingly, we found γ-irradiation of influenza virus, in contrast to that of SFV, did not abrogate the induction of IFN-I. Thus, IFN-I responses of two unrelated ssRNA viruses and their γ-irradiated counterparts will be investigated to establish a model to study the underlying factors responsible for the deficiency in IFN-I responses. potential projects for postgraduate research students would be in the areas of: 1. Induction of IFN-I responses by SFV and Flu and their g-irradiated counterparts. 2. The consequences of the sub-optimal response to secondary viral infections. 3. The underlying factors for the deficient IFN-I response following an acute viral infection. 4. Possible therapeutic approaches to alleviate the enhanced susceptibility to secondary infections.