Seminar - Prof. Alexis M. Kalergis

Speaker

Professor  Alexis M. Kalergis
Millennium Institute Immunology and Immunotherapy
FOCIS Center of Excellence
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Title

Scientific basis for vaccine-induced immunity that prevents acute illness and cognitive impairment caused by respiratory viruses

Host

Anna Blom

Introduction

Prof. Kalegris research has focused on the study of molecular mechanisms used by microbial pathogens, such as respiratory viruses, to prevent the activation of T cells by dendritic cells (DCs), professional Antigen Presenting Cells (APCs) required to initiate an adaptive immune response to clear infections. The understanding of these molecular mechanisms is relevant to the design of efficient and safe strategies to prevent or treat viral diseases. Conversely, induction of tolerogenic APC, such dendritic cells (DCs), by different treatments and by exploiting the mechanisms used by viruses to evade immune responses could be used to promote immune tolerance in organ transplantation and autoimmunity. 

He was trained as a Biochemistry at P. Universidad Católica of Chile and obtained MSc and PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. His graduate work was awarded the Julius Marmur Award for the best thesis. Then, he performed a postdoctoral trainee at the Albert Einstein and The Rockefeller University, supported by an Irvington and a Helen Hay Whitney Fellowships. This training gave excellent skills to study the molecular and cellular interaction between viruses and immune cells. Furthermore, he has been successful at raising competitive funding for these research projects. 

His research has been productive at demonstrating that the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and the human Metapneumovirus (hMPV) infect DCs and prevent T cell activation. Using this knowledge, he has designed two promising vaccines based on the Bacillus Calmette and Guerin (BCG) to prevent severe RSV- and hMPV-induced diseases. In addition, his laboratory has made the first report about the effect of RSV infection in learning and the ability of RSV proteins to target the immunological synapse. These data have translated into clinical trials, demonstrating in humans the safety and immunogenicity of our BCG-based vaccine for RSV and shown that the learning impairment due to severe RSV infection can take place in infants. During the pandemic, his laboratory generated a vaccine prototype for a COVID19 vaccine, and he coordinated and directed the execution of a phase 3 scientific and clinical trial for an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine that was subsequently used for mass vaccination in Chile and led to the control of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.