Rational Design of Novel Vaccines and Biomarkers for Control of Major Infectious Diseases

The threat from infectious diseases has increased with globalization and better intervention measures are urgently required. This is particularly true for the 'Big Four', Malaria, AIDS, Hepatitis C and Tuberculosis. If we want to control these major threats which are responsible for more than 4 million deaths per year, research and development for better diagnostics, drugs and vaccines are urgently required with vaccines being the most cost-efficient measure. Here, I will describe recent developments in vaccine and biomarker design with an emphasis on Tuberculosis.

Stefan H. E. Kaufmann is founding director of the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin, and professor for Microbiology & Immunology, Charité, Berlin. He holds a Doctor Honoris Causa, Marseille University, France, and is Faculty Fellow of Hagler Institute for Advanced Study, USA. Furthermore, he is former President of German Society for Immunology, European Federation of Immunological Societies and International Union of Immunological Societies. He developed a recombinant vaccine and a prognostic biosignature for tuberculosis and received numerous scientific awards. He has published more than 900 books and articles with more than 60,000 citations and is member of numerous professional societies, academies and editorial boards of scientific journals.

Laudatio: Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. Thomas C. Mettenleiter
Moderation: Professor Dr. Anca Dorhoi