About Us

Prof. Jeffrey Almond is a pre-eminent vaccinologist. He has more than 40 years of expertise in the field of vaccines and Influenza

Expertise:
• His scientific contributions include the first demonstration that a single gene can determine host range – a finding highly relevant to understanding evolution of new Influenza pandemic strains
• Completion of the genetic map of an avian influenza virus
• First detailed description of the proteins of Influenza B virus
• Major contributions to the understanding of polio virus and its vaccines

Prior experience:
• Consultant and Scientific Advisory, multiple SABs public sector and Biotech companies (2016-present)
• Visiting Professor, University of Oxford and University of Reading, UK (2016-present)
• VP and Head of Discovery Research and External R&D, Sanofi Pasteur (1999-2013)
• Professor, University of Reading, UK (1985-1999)
• Lecturer, University of Leicester (1979-1985)

Award:
• Oxford Martin Fellow with the Oxford Martin Programme on Vaccines
• Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology
• Fellow of the UK Academy of Medical Sciences
• Ivanovsky Medal, Scientific Council of Virology, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences (1999)
• Fleming Award (1985)

Education:
• PhD of Philosophy, Virology, University of Cambridge, UK (1974-1976)
• BSc, Microbiology and Biochemistry combined honours, University of Leeds, UK (1969-1973)

Dr. Nathalie Garçon has more than 30 years of expertise in vaccinology, from research to manufacturing, in particular immunology, adjuvant and formulation technologies

Expertise:
• 5 new innovation projects selected, with implementation path defined and milestone established for go/no go decision
• Restructuration of North America RD, with downsizing from 4 to 2 sites, and successful integration within the global RD
• Defined and implemented strategy linked to the adjuvant part of first adjuvanted HPV vaccine registration worldwilde
• Streamlined the group organization, put in place processes to optimize the output and define programs supporting the vaccine projects
• Development of adjuvants processes to be compatible with large scale manufacturing. Set up internal process for preclinical experiment tracking and reporting
• Developed pilot plan processes for adjuvant systems to be used for first time in human clinical trials material

Prior experience:
• CEO/CSO, BioAster (2014-present)
• VP and Head of global adjuvant centre for vaccine development at GSK, Belgium (2012-2014)
• VP, Head of global vaccine centre for adjuvants and technology innovation, GSK, Belgium (2012-2014)
• VP global center for adjuvants and delivery systems, GSK, Belgium (2009-2012)
• VP, Head of research and North America R&D, GSK, Belgium/Canada/USA (2008-2009)
• Director Research and new technologies R&D, GSK, Belgium (2005-2008)
• Director alternative deliveries and preclinical operations, GSK, Belgium (2004-2004)
• Director formulation technology platform, GSK, Belgium, (1990-2003)
• Research associate professor, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas (1987-1990)
• Postdoctoral research fellow, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK (1986)

Award:
• S. Plotkin award for life time contribution in vaccines and vaccine technologies (2014)
• Author of over 60 papers and book chapters
• Holder of more than 100 patents

Education:
• PhD in biological pharmacy
• PhD in immunotoxicology and immunopharmacology (1982-1985)
• PharmD, Université Claude Bernard, Lyon (1982-1984)

Dr. Fergal HILL is co-inventor of the pro-immunogenic tags oligoDOM® (OVX313) in its first and second generation. He has published in prominent international journals and is the coauthor of more than 15 patents or patent applications.

Prior experience:
• CSO, IMAXIO (2000-2017)
• Researcher, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany (1999-2000)
• Researcher, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK (1991-1998)

Education:
• BA, Universities of Oxford, UK
• MB, B. Chir, University of Cambridge, UK

Dr. Tim Mosmann is Director of the human immunology center at the University of Rochester, with more than 40 years of experience and major contributions in T cell mediated immunity

Expertise
• Established a high-throughput proliferation and cytotoxicity assay for cytokines
• Used this assay to show that there were discrete patterns of cytokines produced by different T cell lines. This work expanded into the characterization of different functions and further cytokine patterns of Th1 and Th2 T cells
• Demonstrated that effector T cells were specialized for different functions, and laid the groundwork for more recent demonstrations of additional stable or semi-stable T cell subsets
• Led to the prediction of a cross-regulatory cytokine, resulting in the discovery of IL-10
• Worked on a subset of uncommitted precursor T memory cells that constitute a surprisingly large proportion of many human immune responses
• Is working on the objective analysis of flow cytometry data, collaborating on the development of algorithms that allow objective mining of the rich information contained in flow cytometry datasets

Prior Experience:
• Director of the Human Immunology Center, University of Rochester, USA (1998-present)
• Professor and Chair, Department of Immunology, University of Alberta, Canada (1990-1998)
• Research Scientist, DNAX then acquired by Schering plough, Palo Alto, USA (1982-1990)
• Assistant Professor, University of Alberta (1977-1982)
• Post-doctoral fellow, University of Glasgow (1975-1977)
• Post-doctoral fellow, Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto (1973-1975)

Awards:
• Novartis Prize for Basic Immunology, 2013
• Pillar of Immunology, 2005, 2012, 2016
• Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize, 2008
• ASTECH award for Outstanding Leadership in Alberta Science, 1997
• William B. Coley Award, Cancer Research Institute (USA), 1997
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, 1995

Education:
• Ph.D., microbiology, University of British Columbia, Canada (1973)
• BSc, microbiology, Rhodes University, USA (1969)
• BS, Chemistry and physiology, University of Natal, South Africa (1968)

Sir Andrew J MCMICHAEL is a Professor of Molecular Medicine at the Nuffield Department of Medicine at the University of Oxford, UK. For more than 50 years he has worked on cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL) responses against viruses, especially influenza.

• He first showed that human cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses to influenza virus were HLA restricted and that these T cells could protect against disease (1977)
• He showed that class I HLA molecules present influenza virus peptides to CTL with Alain Townsend (1986)

Expertise
• Identified the first epitopes seen by CTL in HIV-1 and then show that virus could escape from CTL by mutation, and later showed that this happens with all epitopes, undermining T cell control of the infection with Alain Townsend (1986)
• Introduced HLA tetramers into the study of human infections, with Mark Davis and John Altman (1996)
• Discovered CD1, with Cesar Milstein
• Identified the ligand for the NK cell receptor NKG2/CD94 as a specific peptide bound HLA-E with Veronique Broad
• Explored whether HLA-E restricted T cells are protective against HIV-1
• Is working on HIV-1 vaccine development, harnessing CTL specific for highly conserved epitopes to control and possibly eradicate early infection

Prior Experience:
• Professor of Molecular Medicine, Nuffield Department of Medicine, Oxford University, UK (1977 – present)
• Fellowship with Dr Hugh McDevitt, Stanford University, US (1974-1976)

Awards:
• Knighthood for services to medical science (2008)
• Nature/NESTA Award for Lifetime Mentoring (2006)
• Ernst Chain Prize (2006)
• Member of European Molecular Biology Organization (2004)
• Novartis Prize (1998)
• Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (1998)
• Fellow of the Royal Society (1992)

Education:
• Medicine degree, University of Cambridge (1968)
• PhD in Immunology at the MRC National Institute of Medical Research with Dr Ita Askonas (1971-1974)