Students have an overview of the different phases needed to conduct clinical development of vaccines. Pharmaceutical industry, investigators, stakeholders and support functions share their points of view. Experts involved in these phases of development give practical details. The emergence of different infectious diseases makes it possible to show the differences between developments in a health crisis versus in times of « peace ». Students learn to design clinical phases of development and understand the importance of the data collected and their quality. They discover (i) the challenges of recruiting, (ii) why clinical development of a vaccine is different from clinical development of another drug, (iii) what happens at the time of market access and after with the surveillance of the vaccine in development.

Vaccines have been and remain a major tool in public health strategies. The growing complexity of current vaccine agendas, the ongoing introduction of new vaccines for different populations, have made decision-making more complex for vaccine producers and public health authorities. Immunization goals become difficult to track for the general public. Students learn the history of vaccination and vaccines; the place of vaccination in public health decisions; social factors influencing vaccine strategies in different countries; the anthropology of vaccine acceptance and rejection; public and media perception of vaccination and vaccines. Students become able to collect information, communicate on vaccination and vaccines, and elaborate recommendations to authorities for education, and information of the public. Practices serves to build communication during the reality project chosen by the student.

Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of disease frequency in human populations. Human diseases and especially infectious diseases do not occur at random and have causal and preventive factors that can be identified through systematic investigation in different populations, in different places or at different times. Vaccines are key preventive factors in the process of transmission and infection. Students learn basics of epidemiology, and discuss the applications of epidemiological concepts in the field of diseases which can be prevented by vaccination. The learning outcomes include understanding epidemiology and its main developments in health sciences, and knowing how to choose, justify and execute the appropriate epidemiological study set up.

L’étudiant est capable d’analyser une question biomédicale, et peut formuler une stratégie de recherche utilisant l’expérimentation animale en respectant l’état de l’art (par exemple 3R), selon les directives européennes, les lois françaises, et l’éthique. L’étudiant réfléchit sur les implications sociales et éthiques des études animales. L’étudiant développe une attitude d’apprentissage tout au long de la vie pour suivre les évolutions dans ce domaine. Le cours est en français et basé sur la législation française qui régit le droit des animaux et l’expérimentation animale nécessaire aux études précliniques. C’est une formation diplômante qui délivre un diplôme exclusivement valable en France.

Using students’ knowledge of immunology, immunopathology and infectiology, students understand the concepts from fundamental research to leading to clinical and pharmaceutical applications in cancerology. Students will learn about the multi-hits, multi-steps and immunoediting in cancerogenesis; interactions between malignant tumours and the immune system; mechanisms of pathogen-induced oncogenesis; cancers of the immune system and consequences; preventive and therapeutic antitumor vaccinology and protection of immune-suppressed patients against secondary oncogenesis. These students also learn how to analyse, understand and manipulate interactions between tumour cells and the immune system to overcome cancer progression.

Students achieve their understanding of how to monitor and to practice monitoring of vaccine efficiency in animal models and in humans. Practical work teach the students how to monitor reactogenicity, innate immunity, humoral and cellular immune responses in mice. Practical immunology includes routes of administration in mice, management of samples for vaccine trial in humans, multi-parameter flow cytometry, ELISPOT, ELISA, microscopy, in vivo imaging, transcriptomics, proteomics and glyconomics. Measures of vaccine efficiency and correlate of protection allow students to write a practical report in the form of a research article.

The S3 language course aims to improve students’ proficiency level, taking into account their previous knowledge of the language in English, French, Spanish, German or Italian. Students will be placed in the adequate course, according to the level they reached after the first two semesters in Barcelona and Antwerp. The principal learning outcome of this teaching unit is to improve language skills.

Students gain theoretical and practical insights in neuro-immunological structures and diseases with an emphasis on pathogenesis and research development for diagnosis and biotherapy treatments.

Students can describe central nervous system cells and structure interacting with the immune system and involved in several neuro-immunological diseases, has insights in the epidemiology of these diseases, can interpret measures to diagnose or correct these diseases, explain how biological mechanisms cause these diseases and acquire a comprehensive overview of the field. Students can discuss recent scientific advances contributing to the progress of biotherapy treatments, analyse, understand and manipulate interactions between central nervous system and the immune system. They improve in speed-reading, English proficiency, and interactive scientific questioning.

Students learn and experience the benefits of managing a project to achieve specific goals in the international context of a scientific and multidisciplinary challenge in vaccinology. Students will be actors in the life of a project, from its initiation to its closure, through all the planning and execution processes related to the project and risk analysis. Students carry out projects such as development of vaccinology-related Massive Open Online Course, organising annual Research Instructive Workshop or the VaxInLive Symposium, or any other projects chosen by the teaching team each year. Groups of (student) managers are organised either horizontally or vertically in a mini-enterprise to lead their project. Students become able to analyse, plan, execute and control a scientific international and multidisciplinary project.

Students learn different types of formulated vaccines, types of vaccines and inactivation methods. They study particulated and nanoparticulated vaccines, recombinant vaccines, live viral- / bacterial-based vaccines and DNA- / RNA-formulated vaccines. They learn to identify and optimize the best vaccine antigens. Students understand how large scale vaccinomics and artificial intelligence foster the future development of personalized vaccinology. Practical approach for vaccine formulation, validation and qualification are framed by training at our partner VFI site.

Students have access to an advanced understanding of vaccines through different specific applications in the field of prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines against different pathogens (preclinical and clinical development). Our BIAH partner offers a specific training in veterinary vaccines. They discover the human challenge models as new way to define vaccine efficacy. They also study fundamental research that supports the development of future vaccines in onco-immunology and neuro-immunology, but also to cure allergy and autoimmune diseases.