VALIDATE Workshop: Vaccines for Neglected Tropical Skin Diseases – Progress and Challenges
About the Workshop
Neglected tropical skin diseases - including VALIDATE pathogens Leishmaniasis, Buruli ulcer, Leprosy, and cutaneous Tuberculosis - pose significant global health challenges. These diseases often share common immunological mechanisms and urgently require innovative vaccine solutions.
This three-day closed workshop (for approximately 30 delegates) will bring together leading experts from research, industry, and funding bodies to:
- Share the latest developments in vaccine discovery for VALIDATE’s skin NTDs
- Identify key barriers to progress
- Explore collaborative solutions for advancing vaccine research
The workshop will feature sessions on four key areas:
- Pathogenesis & mechanisms of protection
- Vaccine development & clinical progress
- Laboratory & animal models
- Social aspects, including patient perspectives
Each session will feature talks, followed by round-table discussions, ensuring all delegates contribute to shaping future research and policy directions.
Workshop Aims
- Highlight current knowledge – showcase the latest research on pathogenesis, immunology, and vaccine development for VALIDATE’s skin NTDs
- Identify key challenges – examine barriers to vaccine research and implementation, including funding gaps, knowledge limitations, and public engagement hurdles
- Foster collaboration & find solutions – strengthen networks and interdisciplinary partnerships to accelerate breakthroughs in skin NTD vaccine research
Agenda
0845 – 0900 Registration & Coffee
0900 – 0905 Welcome from Dr Maria Adelaida Gomez
Session 1: Introductions
0905 – 1020 Turbo Talks
All Delegates
1020 – 1050 Break
1050 – 1120 The Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Spectrum and Challenges for Vaccine Development
Prof Maria Adelaida Gomez, CIDEIM, Colombia
1120 – 1150 Overview of Buruli Ulcer Disease
Dr Yaw Ampem Amoako, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) & Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR), Ghana
1150 – 1200 Q&A / Panel
1200 – 1300 Lunch
1300 – 1330 Leprosy: What Do We Know About Mycobacterium leprae?
Dr Hua Wang, University of Strathclyde, UK
1330 – 1400 Brief Overview of TB with a Focus on Cutaneous Forms
Prof Rajko Reljic, St George's University of London (SGUL), UK
1400 – 1410 Q&A / Panel
1410 – 1440 Break
Session 2: Funders & Organisation Perspectives
1440 – 1500 Advancements in Point-of-Care Molecular Diagnostics and Vaccine Strategies for Leprosy Diagnosis and Control
Dr Sundeep Vedithi, University of Cambridge, UK
1500 – 1520 Wellcome's Strategic Approach to Infectious Disease Challenges
Miss Jeanette Hayes, Wellcome Trust, UK
1520 – 1540 UK Science & Technology Network in Colombia
Mr Luis Calzadilla, British Embassy, Colombia
1540 – 1600 Integrated Control and Management of Skin NTDs and Priority Research Gaps
Dr Daniel Argaw Dagne, World Health Organization (WHO), Switzerland
1600 – 1620 Q&A / Panel
1620 – 1655 Round-table Discussions
1655 – 1700 Wrap-Up
0845 – 0900 Registration & Coffee
0900 – 0905 Welcome from Dr Maria Adelaida Gomez
0845 – 0900 Coffee
Session 3: Pathogenesis – Mechanisms of Protection, Pathology, Virulence Factors
0900 – 0930 Immunopathogenesis in Cutaneous Leishmaniasis
Dr Fernanda Novais, Ohio State University, USA
0930 – 1000 Inhibition of Sec61 by Mycolactone – A Virulence Mechanism with Major Impacts on Cellular Physiology
Prof Rachel Simmonds, University of Surrey, UK
1000 – 1010 Q&A / Panel
1010 – 1040 Break
1040 – 1110 Leprosy: History, Pathogenesis, and Treatment
Dr Márcia Rodrigues Jardim, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Brazil
1110 – 1140 Unmasking Human Tuberculosis: Insights into Granuloma Biology and Disease Pathogenesis
Prof Adrie Steyn, AHRI & University of Alabama, South Africa & USA
1140 – 1150 Q&A / Panel
1150 – 1230 Round-table Discussions
1230 – 1330 Lunch
Session 4: Latest Vaccine Progress in the Field
1330 – 1400 A Composite Subunit Vaccine Confers Full Protection Against Buruli Ulcer in the Mouse Model
Prof Rajko Reljic, St George's University of London (SGUL), UK
1400 – 1430 Attenuated Parasites as a Road for Vaccine Development Against CL – Roadblocks and Advancements
Dr Camila de Oliveira, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Brazil
1430 – 1500 Advancing Leprosy Vaccines Through Human Immunology: Challenges and New Directions
Dr Veronica Schmitz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Brazil
1500 – 1515 Q&A / Panel
1515 – 1545 Break
1545 – 1645 Round-table Discussions
1645 – 1700 Wrap-Up
0845 – 0900 Coffee
Session 5: Lab & Animal Models to Study Local Immune Responses and Delivery Systems
0900 – 0930 Buruli Ulcer Vaccine Animal Models: Past, Present and Future Challenges
Prof Steve Muhi, University of Melbourne, Australia
0930 – 1000 Basic and Translational Research for Leprosy: A Long Road to Prevention, Diagnosis, and Therapeutics
Prof Manabu Ato, National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID), Japan
1000 – 1030 Spatial & Single Cell Transcriptomics: Decoding Skin Resident Immunity from Melanoma to Mycobacteria
Dr Andres Vallejo, University of Southampton, UK
1030 – 1045 Q&A / Panel
1045 – 1115 Break
1115 – 1200 Round-table Discussions
1200 – 1300 Lunch
Session 6: Social Aspects – Patient Perspectives and Societal Impact
1300 – 1320 Integrating the Vaccine Sciences within Social, Economic, and Policy Perspectives
Prof Maria Elena Botazzi, Baylor College of Medicine, USA
1320 – 1340 The Social Challenges of Clinical Research in Skin NTDs in Remote Rural Areas
Mrs Alexandra Cossio, CIDEIM, Colombia
1340 – 1400 Patient Involvement in Leishmaniasis Product Development: The Role of Qualitative and Mixed Methods
Dr Maria del Mar Castro, University of Heidelberg / CIDEIM
1400 – 1415 Q&A / Panel
1415 – 1445 Break
1445 – 1505 Empowering Communities in Leprosy Control: Lessons from Post-Exposure Prophylaxis
Dr Krishna Lama
1505 – 1525 Bridging the Gap: From Intervention to Impact Through Implementation Research and Social Innovation
Mrs Maria I Echavarria, CIDEIM, Colombia
1525 – 1535 Q&A / Panel
1535 – 1635 Round-table Discussions
1635 – 1650 Wrap-Up
