VALIDATE Vaccines for Skin NTDs Seminars: Lab & Animal Models to Study Local Immune Responses and Delivery Systems
About the Seminar
In the third seminar in the series, we will explore advances in leprosy research, Buruli ulcer vaccine models, and spatial and single-cell transcriptomics for vaccine design.
Basic and Translational Research for Leprosy: A Long Road Leading to Prevention, Early Diagnosis, and Novel Therapeutics
Prof Manabu Ato, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan
More than 150 years after the discovery of Mycobacterium leprae, research progress remains unsatisfactory. This is largely due to the lack of a reliable in vitro culture method and an appropriate animal model for leprosy. In this talk, Manabu will present his team’s basic and translational research efforts aimed at overcoming these challenges and advancing leprosy control.
Buruli Ulcer Vaccine Animal Models: Past, Present and Future Challenges
Dr Stephen Muhi, University of Melbourne, Australia
Since the first murine Buruli ulcer vaccine model was established in 1957, significant progress has been made in understanding the pathogenesis and transmission of Mycobacterium ulcerans in Australia. Nevertheless, these advances have not translated into meaningful public health interventions—cases in Australia continue to rise and are now emerging in densely populated metropolitan regions. Steve will talk about the compelling need for a Buruli ulcer vaccine and how animal models are pivotal in the development pathway. The presentation will examine the historical landscape of Buruli ulcer vaccine modelling, highlight the challenges in translating pre-clinical results into real-world application, and discuss current research and upcoming plans to establish innovative models to test vaccines in the most relevant hosts: native Australian possums and humans.
Spatial & Single Cell Transcriptomics: Decoding Skin Resident Immunity from Melanoma to Mycobacteria
Dr Andrés Vallejo Pulido, University of Southampton, UK
In this talk, Andres will walk through the practical toolkit—and the analytical mindset—behind today’s spatial and single-cell transcriptomics platforms. He will present side-by-side case studies in cutaneous melanoma and Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, showing how high-resolution tissue maps reveal immune cell positioning, pathogen footprints, and therapeutic weak spots. Andres will introduce a new barcoding strategy for tracking intracellular bacteria at single-cell scale, discuss common pitfalls such as tissue preparation and data integration, and outline how these readouts feed directly into vaccine antigen selection and delivery system design.
