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This is a joint event organized by Norwegian Society of Immunology, The Life Science Cluster, and PRIMA CoE.
15:00-15:30: Vaccines in the era of artificial intelligence
Rino Rappuoli, Fondazione Biotecnopolo di Siena, Siena, Italy
During the last 45 years the vaccine field has been transformed by many breakthrough technologies, which allowed to conquer diseases that were previously impossible to tackle with conventional technologies. Starting from 1980s the vaccine field was transformed first by the advent of recombinant DNA, followed by glyco-conjugation, licensure of novel adjuvants, and by the ability to discover antigens directly from the genome of microorganisms (reverse vaccinology). This was followed by the ability to perform high throughput determination of the structure of antigens and use the information to do structure-based design of properly folded antigens. The ability to generate quickly novel vaccines and novel vaccine candidates grew enormously with the advent of synthetic biology. In 2013 it was possible for the first time to generate a vaccine candidate in one week starting from the sequence of the influenza virus delivered by the internet. Today, reverse vaccinology, structure-based antigen design, and synthetic biology, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), are part of the routine design of any vaccine. Indeed, vaccine discovery is now deeply facilitated by the power of AI which can predict the structure of proteins in fractions of seconds and can rapidly design antigens that are stable, properly folded and induce appropriate immunity against the desired epitopes. In the future AI is expected to change the entire vaccinology pipeline, including immune responses and emerging infectious disease prediction, manufacturing and regulatory processes, clinical trial design and implementation, and vaccine access and equity. However, realizing the promise of AI for vaccinology requires more high-quality data.
15.30-16:00: Reverse vaccinology 3.0: the artificial intelligence revolution to propel vaccine development
Emanuele Andreano, Head of the serology and immunology lab at Fondazione Biotecnopolo di Siena, Italy
Over the past three decades, vaccine development has evolved from classical pathogen cultivation to genome-based antigen discovery (Reverse Vaccinology), followed by the isolation of human monoclonal antibodies enabling structural definition of protective epitopes (Reverse Vaccinology 2.0). More recently, artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed the field by enabling rapid prediction of antigen structures and antibody–antigen interactions, accelerating discovery from years to days and defining a new paradigm termed “Reverse Vaccinology 3.0”. This approach was first implemented in the context of monkeypox virus (MPXV) to address the urgent need for improved countermeasures against recurrent mpox outbreaks. By integrating antigen-agnostic isolation of human monoclonal antibodies, AlphaFold3-based modeling, and cryo-electron microscopy, Reverse Vaccinology 3.0 enabled the identification of the orthopoxviral protein OPG153 (MPXV A28) as a target of broadly neutralizing antibodies. OPG153-specific antibodies neutralize multiple MPXV forms, clades and vaccinia virus, and cross-reacted with cowpox and smallpox viruses. Immunization with OPG153 elicits potent neutralizing responses, establishing it as a promising broad vaccine antigen and therapeutic target against orthopoxviruses.
Refreshments will be served.
Biosketch Rappaouli
Rino Rappuoli is Scientific Director of the Biotecnopolo di Siena Foundation, Italy. He is also Honorary Professor of Vaccinology at Imperial College, London, and Senior Professor of Molecular Biology at the University of Siena. Prior positions held: Head R&D and Chief Scientist at GSK Vaccines, head of Vaccine R&D at Novartis, CSO at Chiron Corporation, head R&D at Sclavo. He earned his PhD in Biological Sciences at the University of Siena, Italy, and was visiting scientist at Rockefeller University and Harvard Medical School. He is elected member of US National Academy of Sciences (NAS), American Academy of Arts & Sciences (AAAS), American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), Royal Society of London, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. Awards received: Gold Medal by the Italian President, Albert B Sabin Gold Medal, Canada Gairdner International Award, European Inventor Award for Lifetime Achievement, Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize, Robert Koch Award, Maxwell Finland Award for Scientific Achievement. He is President of the International Union of Microbiological Societies. He was voted the world's third-most influential person in the field of vaccines at the Terrapinn World Vaccine Congress in 2013. Currently, he is ranked second most important person worldwide in the specialty of vaccines by ScholarGPS. He has published 840 works in peer-reviewed journals and an H-index of 169. He introduced novel scientific concepts: genetic detoxification; cellular microbiology; reverse vaccinology; pangenome. Developed licensed vaccines: acellular pertussis containing a non-toxic mutant of pertussis toxin; first conjugate vaccine against meningococcus C; conjugate vaccines against meningococcus ACYW, MF59-adjuvanted seasonal and pandemic influenza. MF59 was the first vaccine adjuvant approved for human use after the aluminum salts; meningococcus B by reverse vaccinology; cell culture-based influenza vaccine, respiratory syncytial virus, CRM 197 as carrier of most conjugate vaccines. Founder of the GSK Vaccines Institute for Global Health (GVGH) Professor Rappuoli is among the world scientific leaders dedicated to the sustainability of global health.