Advances in immunology and vaccine discovery report of the United States-European Commission workshop.
As the 21st century unfolds, infectious diseases remain one of the most significant threats to our economy, our food animal production systems, animal welfare, and most importantly, the lives of people worldwide, regardless of their economic standing. The potential use of biological threat agents for terrorism or biowarfare further undermines the security of our society. Arguably, vaccines represent the single most cost-effective, medically delivered strategy for confronting these challenges. The workshop "Advances in Immunology and Vaccine Discovery" was organized to address these challenges, based on the conviction that the interface between immunology and vaccinology offers the best prospects for major breakthroughs in vaccine discovery and development. Six focus areas were identified by workshop organizers: (1) pathogen immune evasion; (2) innate immunity; (3) mucosal immunity; (4) immunogenetics; (5) comparative immunology; and (6) genomics. These areas provided opportunities to elucidate how protective immunity may relate to the disruption of the molecular mechanisms that underlie host-pathogen interactions. A report generated by workshop organizers and participants provides key recommendations and identifies important research gaps, needs, future steps, and potential strategic US-EU collaborations. The report is available on line through ScienceDirect (URL).
Gay
Cyril G
CG
Animal Production and Protection, Agriculture Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, 5601 Sunnyside Avenue, Beltsville, MD 20705, United States.
Richie
Thomas L
TL
Pastoret
Paul-Pierre
PP
Minguez-Tudela
Isabel
I
de Baetselier
Patrick
P
Göbel
Thomas
T
Goddeeris
Bruno
B
Kaiser
Pete
P
Morrison
Ivan
I
Sánchez-Vizcaíno
José Manuel
JM
Anderson
Kevin
K
Baillie
Leslie W
LW
Brown
Wendy C
WC
Estes
D Mark
DM
Herrera
Eileen
E
Nara
Peter L
PL
Ockenhouse
Chris F
CF
Roth
James A
JA
Sztein
Marcelo B
MB
D003140:Communicable Disease Control / Q000379:methods*; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D014612:Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*
D014612:Vaccines