An online course that covers all aspects in this area
Vaccines are one of the most powerful and effective ways to reduce morbidity and mortality. They offer protection against infectious diseases and can even eradicate diseases. Although our current vaccines are effective, there are some major challenges to overcome.
One of the issues is that the current vaccines are not accessible to everyone. Worldwide almost 20 million children are not vaccinated because the current vaccines require refrigerated transport. Besides, we are facing ‘new diseases’ for which no vaccines are available yet.
A new era in vaccinology
To beat these challenges, new vaccine technologies are needed. Scientists from KU Leuven work on a new vaccine concept, the so called PLLAV platform. One of the vaccines they developed with this platform should offer dual protection against yellow fever virus and rabies. The first results in rodents are promising. But rodents respond differently to vaccines than humans do, and more research is needed. As partner in the EU H2020 RABYD-VAX project BPRC will evaluate this vaccine in monkeys.
Open online course vaccinology
The RABYD-VAX project also includes an educational program on vaccinology. In the MOOC (massive open online course) prominent scientists from all over the world explain how vaccines work, what the future challenges are and provide possible solutions to overcome these challenges. The online course is accessible to everyone.
You can register here.