Vaccine experts from academia, foundations, industry, and government will discuss global advances in vaccine research, development, and policy at the first annual on Wednesday, Dec. 6.
The program will focus on vaccines for COVID-19, tuberculosis, respiratory syncytial virus, HIV, polio, and herpes.
, dean of the Geisel School of Medicine, will introduce the keynote speaker and Dartmouth President will deliver welcoming remarks at the all-day conference to be held on campus at the Hanover Inn.
Organized by the Dartmouth International Vaccine Initiative, the , and , the program will also explore the role of academic vaccine institutes and critical issues in vaccine acceptance and vaccine access.
“The conference provides us with an opportunity to highlight Dartmouth’s legacy in vaccine research, which dates back to the development of the measles vaccine by Samuel Katz ’48, Geisel ’50, and focus on new vaccines for the world,” says conference co-chair and afternoon session moderator , an infectious disease specialist and a professor of medicine at Geisel who led the development of .
Licensed in 1963, the measles vaccine has saved millions of lives.
John Modlin, professor emeritus and former chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Geisel and Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, will discuss Katz’s research and the measles vaccine. Modlin recently for his work in advancing vaccine safety and public policy.
Structural biologist and former Geisel assistant professor Jason McLellan, now a professor of molecular sciences and the Robert A. Welch Chair in Chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin, will deliver the keynote address. He will discuss COVID-19 vaccines and the structural basis of immunogenicity, which refers to the ability of cells and tissues to provoke an immune response.
McLellan is credited with inventing, during his time at Dartmouth, a method to stabilize coronavirus spike proteins—a technology that is the basis for messenger ribonucleic acid vaccines that protect people from COVID-19. Unlike most vaccines which contain an actual virus or deadened bacteria, mRNA vaccines produce viral proteins resembling the protein spikes that trigger the immune system by producing antibodies, which remain in the system after exposure. More than 5.5 billion people worldwide have received at least one COVID-19 dose, many of which rely on spike protein technology.
Earlier this year, Dartmouth’s vaccine breakthrough on stabilizing coronavirus spike proteins led by McLellan earned a from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in the COVID-19 category. McLellan was also recognized for this work in 2022 when .
“One of our objectives with this conference is to highlight how the social sciences can be applied to vaccine development upstream in ways that help ensure vaccines become vaccinations,” says conference co-chair and morning session moderator , faculty director for the , and an assistant professor of medicine at Geisel. “We will also focus on mechanisms to improve vaccine access and strategies to reduce hesitancy barriers.”
Speakers will include other faculty members at Geisel, , and , and from the at Dartmouth. , the James O. Freedman Presidential Professor of Government, will speak on vaccine misinformation and politicization.
, head of corporate strategy at Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute and a former intern at the Dickey Center’s Global Health Initiative, will discuss TB vaccines and the role of nongovernmental organizations.
Philip Dormitzer, senior vice president and global head of vaccines research and development at GSK, will discuss the role of industry in vaccine development.
Mark Connors, chief of the HIV-specific immunity section at the National Institutes of Health, will discuss HIV vaccines and the role of NIH.
Associate Dean for Global Health , Geisel ’90, director of global initiatives in the Office of the Provost at Dartmouth, director of , and a professor of medicine at Geisel, will serve as a panelist in the afternoon panel discussion.
The program will close with remarks by von Reyn regarding a vision for a Dartmouth International Vaccine Institute, an interdisciplinary initiative on vaccine research by faculty from throughout Dartmouth and its professional schools.
The conference is open to the public, and the registration fee is waived for all Dartmouth students. Pre-registration is required to attend. Continuing education credit is available. For the schedule, complete list of speakers, and to register, please visit the .
In addition to Geisel and the Dickey Center, the conference is sponsored by the Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation, the , , the , the at Tuck, and the .
