Challenges and accomplishments in Shigella vaccine development
On day four of World Immunisation Week 2023, Professor Cohen will present the main strategies of Shigella vaccine development and the breakthrough achieved in Shigella vaccinology by the parenterally delivered detoxified Shigella O-SP conjugate vaccines. ​
​A keystone support to Shigella glycoconjugates development was the strong inverse association between pre-existent serum IgG antibodies to S. sonnei or S. flexneri 2a LPS and infection with the homologous Shigella serotypes identified in sero-epidemiological studies. S. sonnei and S. flexneri 2a glycoconjugate were highly immunogenic in healthy volunteers and the S. sonnei detoxified LPS conjugate vaccine showed 74-71% efficacy in trials in Israeli young adults and children aged>3 years. These findings paved the way for developing a new generation of glycoconjugates and other injectable LPS-based vaccines. The immunogenicity of a novel vaccine candidate, a S. flexneri 2a synthetic glycan-based conjugate will be presented.  ​
Speaker
Professor Dani Cohen MPH, PhD. is a Professor of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, former head of the Tel Aviv University School of Public Health (SPH), and the Chair of the Middle East Consortium for Infectious Diseases Surveillance (MECIDS).  
Prof. Cohen and his research lab at TAU SPH work on the development and evaluation of vaccines with a special focus on enteric vaccines and in particular on Shigella vaccines. Prof. Cohen and his group contributed to the development of the first and the new generations of Shigella conjugate vaccines which are currently the leading Shigella vaccine candidates. He studied the immune response following natural Shigella infection or immunization and developed correlates of protection against shigellosis, essential in vaccine development. 
Prof. Cohen has served for many years on the Israel National Advisory Committee on Vaccines and Infectious Diseases. He is currently a member of the WHO Working Group on Prioritization of Vaccines for Emerging Diseases. He received several awards for outstanding contributions to research and is the author of more than 260 peer-reviewed articles. 
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