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NIAID Workshop Report: Systematic Approaches for ESKAPE Bacteria Antigen Discovery

Vaccines 2025, 13(1), 87; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines13010087 (registering DOI)

On 14–15 November 2023, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) organized a workshop entitled “Systematic Approaches for ESKAPE Bacteria Antigen Discovery”. The goal of the workshop was to engage scientists from diverse relevant backgrounds to explore novel technologies that can be harnessed to identify and address current roadblocks impeding advances in antigen and vaccine discoveries for the ESKAPE pathogens (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species). The workshop consisted of four sessions that addressed ESKAPE infections, antigen discovery and vaccine efforts, and new technologies including systems immunology and vaccinology approaches. Each session was followed by a panel discussion. In total, there were over 260 in-person and virtual attendees, with high levels of engagement. This report provides a summary of the event and highlights challenges and opportunities in the field of ESKAPE vaccine discovery.
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Antiscience, Vaccine Hesitancy, and Pandemic Responses: Highlights from the Asia Pacific Summit on Infectious Diseases and Immunization

Vaccines 2024, 12(12), 1336; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines12121336

The recent resurgence of mpox highlights the urgent need for rethinking vaccination strategies globally, underscored by the painful memories of past public health crises where delayed responses and inequitable vaccine distribution exacerbated the spread of infectious diseases. The inaugural APIC-ADVA Asia Pacific Summit on Infectious Diseases and Immunization, themed “Vaccination for All: Access, Confidence and Equity (ACE)”, was held in Singapore from 31 October to 1 November 2023 in an attempt to present best practices and hard-won insights from battling COVID-19 and other pandemics in the Asia-Pacific region. This summit was co-convened by the Asia-Pacific Immunization Coalition (APIC) and Asia Dengue Voice and Action (ADVA). Local, regional, and international experts from academia, research and representatives from the Ministries of Health, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) participated in the 2 day summit. With more than 230 speakers and delegates from over 15 countries, and 4 symposia over 2 full days, the first APIC-ADVA Asia Pacific Summit on Infectious Diseases and Immunization highlighted critical issues affecting vaccine access, confidence, and equity, and emphasized the importance of safeguarding the world from existing infections and future pandemics through immunization.
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Proceedings of the Conference “CMV Vaccine Development—How Close Are We?” (27–28 September 2023)

Vaccines 2024, 12(11), 1231; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines12111231

Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) is the most common infectious cause of disability in children, including sensorineural hearing loss. There is interest in developing a pre-conception vaccine that could confer protective immunity on a woman of child-bearing age, hence resulting in a reduced cCMV disease burden. Other populations, including solid organ transplant (SOT) and hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) patients, could also benefit from CMV vaccination. To review and discuss vaccines that are in clinical development, a workshop, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), was empaneled. At this workshop, correlates of protective immunity against CMV, epidemiologic features of CMV transmission, and vaccine platforms in development were reviewed. Representatives from academia, pharma, and the NIH engaged in discussion on the current state-of-the-art in CMV vaccinology. A summary of the presentations from this is provided in this report.
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Beyond Awareness: Hope for a CMV Vaccine! An Introduction to the Conference, “CMV Vaccine Development—How Close Are We?” (27–28 September 2023)

Vaccines 2024, 12(11), 1226; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines12111226

Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) is the most common infectious cause of disability in children. The major theme of this National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) workshop, “CMV Vaccine Development—How Close Are We?”, was to report progress on the development of a pre-conception vaccine that could confer protective immunity for women of child-bearing age. Such a vaccine could result in a reduced cCMV disease burden, although other populations, including solid organ transplant and hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients, could benefit as well. To frame the compelling need for a cCMV vaccine, a keynote lecture by Dr. Megan Pesch, immediate past-president of the National CMV Foundation and a leading cCMV researcher from the University of Michigan, was given. This manuscript provides a summary of Dr. Pesch’s presentation from this workshop, which was written as the introductory conference report for the meeting.
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Proceedings of the Online Conference “Vaccines and Vaccination during and Post COVID Pandemics” (7–9 December 2022)

Vaccines 2023, 11(7), 1175; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11071175

The COVID-19 pandemic put focus on various aspects of vaccine research and development. These include mass vaccination strategies, vaccination compliance and hesitancy, acceptance of novel vaccine approaches, preclinical and animal models used to assess vaccine safety and efficacy, and many other related issues. These issues were addressed by the international online conference “Vaccines and Vaccination During and Post COVID Pandemics” (VAC&VAC 2022) held on the platform of Riga Stradins University, Riga, Latvia. Conference was supported by the International Society for Vaccines, the National Cancer Institute “Fondazione Pascale” (Naples, Italy), and the scientific journal VACCINES (mdpi). VAC&VAC 2022 attracted nearly 150 participants from 14 countries. This report summarizes conference presentations and their discussion. Sessions covered the topics of (1) COVID-19 vaccine development, evaluation, and attitude towards these vaccines, (2) HPV and cancer vaccines, (3) progress and challenges of HIV vaccine development, (4) new and re-emerging infectious threats, and (5) novel vaccine vehicles, adjuvants, and carriers. Each session was introduced by a plenary lecture from renowned experts from leading research institutions worldwide. The conference also included sessions on research funding and grant writing and an early career researcher contest in which the winners received monetary awards and a chance to publish their results free of charge in the special issue of VACCINES covering the meeting.
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Experimental Medicine for HIV Vaccine Research and Development

Vaccines 2023, 11(5), 970; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11050970

The development of safe and effective HIV vaccines has been a scientific challenge for more than 40 years. Despite disappointing results from efficacy clinical trials, much has been learnt from years of research and development. In a rapidly evolving HIV prevention landscape, swift evaluation of multiple vaccine approaches eliciting cross-reactive humoral and cellular responses is needed to ensure the development of efficacious vaccine candidates. To contain increasing costs, innovative clinical research methods are required. Experimental medicine has the potential to accelerate vaccine discovery by iterating early stages of clinical testing faster and by selecting the most promising immunogen combinations for further clinical evaluation. As part of its mission to unite diverse stakeholders involved in the response to the HIV epidemic, the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise at IAS—the International AIDS Society—hosted a series of online events between January and September 2022 to discuss the merits and challenges of experimental medicine studies to accelerate the development of safe and effective HIV vaccines. This report summarizes key questions and discussions across the series of events, which brought together scientists, policy makers, community stakeholders, advocates, bioethicists, and funders.
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Towards an Effective, Rational and Sustainable Approach for the Control of Cattle Ticks in the Neotropics

Vaccines 2020, 8(1), 9; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines8010009

Ticks and transmitted pathogens constitute a major burden for cattle industry in the Neotropics. To address this limitation, the Spanish Ibero-American Program of Science and Technology in Development office (CYTED) supported from 2018 a network of scientists named “LaGar” (CYTED code 118RT0542) aimed at optimizing the control strategies of cattle ticks in the neotropical region. As part of network activities, a meeting and course were organized on 4–8 November 2019 in Querétaro, Mexico to address the objective of developing the infrastructure necessary for an effective, sustainable (i.e., combination of efficacious acaricides with anti-tick vaccines) and rational (i.e., considering tick ecology, seasonal dynamics and cattle-wildlife interactions) control of cattle tick infestations and transmitted pathogens. The course was focused on scientists, students, cattle holders and producers and pharmaceutical/industry representatives. In this way the course addressed the different views presented by participants with the conclusion of producing a research-driven combination of different interventions for the control of tick tick-borne diseases.
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Towards a Multidisciplinary Approach to Improve Cattle Health and Production in Uganda

Vaccines 2019, 7(4), 165; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines7040165

A meeting and course supported by the Vice-Presidency for International Affairs of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the National Agricultural Research Organization of Uganda (NARO) were held at the National Livestock Resources Research Institute (NaLIRRI) in Nakyesasa, Wakiso, Uganda on September 2–9, 2019. The activities were conducted within the collaboration program between the Institute of Game and Wildlife Research (IREC, CSIC-UCLM-JCCM, Spain) and NARO for the development of vaccines and other interventions for the control of cattle ticks in Uganda.
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20th International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases in the Pacific Rim Organized by the United States-Japan Cooperative Medical Sciences Program (USJCMSP)

Vaccines 2019, 7(2), 35; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines7020035

The 20th International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases in the Pacific Rim to3ok place in Shenzhen, China on January 8–9, 2018 followed by meetings of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)/immunology, acute respiratory infections, cancer, hepatitis, and viral diseases panels on January 10–11. The conference was organized as part of the United States-Japan Cooperative Medical Sciences Program (USJCMSP) by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) and the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and was locally hosted by the Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Institute of Microbiology. The conference provides the basis for networking and fostering of collaboration opportunities between researchers in Southeast Asia and the United States based on the scientific and interactive platform of the USJCMSP and takes place in the region on an annual basis. This report summarizes the discussions and conclusions from the conference.
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Equine Vaccines: How, When and Why? Report of the Vaccinology Session, French Equine Veterinarians Association, 2016, Reims

Vaccines 2017, 5(4), 46; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines5040046

To date, vaccination is one of the most efficient methods of prevention against equine infectious diseases. The vaccinology session, which was organised during the annual meeting of the French Equine Veterinarians Association (AVEF) at Reims (France) in 2016, aimed to approach three subjects of importance for the equine industry. Vaccination against three major equine diseases were used as examples: equine influenza (equine influenza virus), rhinopneumonitis (equine herpes virus 1/4), and tetanus (Clostridium tetani neuro-toxin). (1) Emergency vaccination: while it has been very successful to reduce the impact of equine influenza epizooties and it is also recommended for tetanus in case of surgery and accident, the benefit of emergency vaccination against equine herpes virus 1/4 remains arguable; (2) Compatibility of equine vaccines from different brands: despite being a frequent concerns for equine veterinarians, little information is available about the compatibility of equine vaccines from different commercial origins. The consequence of mixing different equine vaccines targeting the same disease is believed to be limited but scientific evidences are sparse; and, (3) Laps vaccination and vaccine shortage: they could have serious consequences in terms of protection and their impact should be evaluated on a case by case basis, taking into account the risk of contact with the pathogen and the effect on herd immunity.
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