ADVAC: from case studies to a Nobel prize-winning speaker

Case studies and role-playing exercises included how to respond to vaccine detractors and ways to implement new vaccination programs in a country.

A highlight of this year’s ADVAC was the session taught by Nobel Prize winner Rolf M. Zinkernagel, on the theme “Immunology taught by viruses”. Rolf M. Zinkernagel, a professor at the University of Zurich, received the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in 1996 (along with Peter Doherty), for the discovery of how the immune system recognizes virus-infected cells.

A dynamic alumni network that meets regularly

Today, the alumni network is made up of 1070 people from 110 countries and is increasingly active. These former students meet regularly at international gatherings organized around prestigious scientific conferences and financed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

On April 25th, 61 former students met up in Geneva on the occasion of the WHO SAGE conference. The theme of the discussion was: “Issues related to HPV vaccine acceptance: lessons from the Danish experience”.

As in previous years, the participants in this 18th ADVAC session have created a LinkedIn group.

ADVAC Partners

In addition to the co-organizers, the University of Geneva and the Mérieux Foundation, ADVAC benefits from the support of many partners:

• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• European Commission
• WHO
• US CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• ESPID (European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases)
• ECDC (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control)
• Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID)
• NIAID/NIH (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/National Institutes of Health)
• Fogarty International Center
• NVPO (National Vaccine Program Office)