Géraldine Blanchard-Rohner Gets a SNSF Support for Her Pertussis Vaccine Research

Géraldine Blanchard-Rohner, a privat-docent in the Department of Paediatrics, Gynaecology and Obstetrics and a member of the Centre for Inflammation Research (GCIR) at the University of Geneva Faculty of Medicine, as well as head of the Paediatric Immunology, Vaccinology and Rheumatology Unit at the HUG, will lead a major research project on new-generation pertussis vaccines. The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has awarded her a grant of over one million francs over four years.

Since the 1990s, acellular pertussis vaccines have replaced the older whole-cell vaccines, but their efficacy wanes more rapidly and they induce a suboptimal immune response. The immune system, ‘programmed’ from the very first vaccination, reproduces this imperfect response during subsequent booster doses, limiting long-term protection. This phenomenon is all the more worrying given that pertussis is experiencing resurgences in Europe despite high vaccination coverage rates, and that infants too young to be vaccinated remain the most vulnerable.

The project led by Dr Blanchard-Rohner will investigate whether new vaccines based on a genetically detoxified pertussis toxin (gdPT) – whose natural structure is better preserved than in current vaccines – can circumvent this problematic signature. Drawing on unique Swiss cohorts and advanced approaches, including single-cell immunoprofiling, analysis of B- and T-cell repertoires, and mucosal immunology, the research team aims to gain a better understanding of how immune memory influences responses to pertussis vaccination.

The project is being carried out in collaboration with Dimitri Diavatopoulos and Martijn Huijnen (Radboud University Medical Centre, Netherlands), as well as with Arnaud Didierlaurent, a professor at the Faculty of Medicine at UNIGE and a member of the GCIR.

➡️ Source: UNIGE | 📸 ©UNIGE