1st Joint Call: ThaiVacc
The Project:
Vaccination is one of the most effective strategies for the prevention and control of infectious diseases. However, not all vaccine are currently available in Thailand, particularly those for endemic diseases. This is in part due to low incidence and a lack of public information, but cost also plays an important factor, as most commercially available vaccines are imported, and too expensive for the general public to afford.
The ThaiVacc project aims to address this issue through the research and development of vaccines for leptospirosis and dengue fever. By working with an international team of researchers in Thailand, Switzerland and France, the project will not only help in strengthening the potential in vaccine research and development in Thailand, but will allow for knowledge and technology transfer between project partners in Europe and Southeast Asia.
The Science:
The project will be focused on the following activities:
- Investigating the use of adjuvant systems in order to enhance the immunogenic properties of new multiple subunit vaccines for leptospirosis and suitable tetravalent DNA vaccine for dengue fever to allow higher immunogenicity and enhanced protection.
- Developing new oral vaccination approaches against leptospirosis and dengue, which combine M-cell targeting strategies and specific mucosal adjuvants.
- Organizing a workshop on mucosal vaccination in Chulalongkorn University, with the collaboration of Swiss and French partners.
The Team:
The ThaiVacc partners are:
- Chula Vaccine Research Center (Chula VRC), Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, http://www.chulavrc.org
- University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland, http://www.unil.ch/index.html
- University of Geneva (UNIGE), Geneva, Switzerland, https://www.unige.ch/
- Université Jean Monnet Saint-Etienne (UJM), Saint-Etienne, France, https://www.univ-st-etienne.fr/fr/index.html
Contact:
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kanitha Patarakul, MD, PhD: Kanitha.Pa@chula.ac.th