IMMUNOLOGY2025™ Conference Recordings-Systems vaccinology

Video Transcription

Video Summary

The speaker accepted the Ralph Steinman Award by reflecting on Steinman’s legacy and the central role of human immunology. He traced the field from Edward Jenner’s 1796 smallpox vaccination experiment to modern systems vaccinology, arguing that mice have been essential for discovery but often fail to predict human responses because humans are far more genetically and environmentally diverse.<br /><br />He described his career path from mouse dendritic-cell work to human studies, including showing that Flt3 ligand expands dendritic cells in humans. The talk then focused on using vaccines as experimental probes of the human immune system. Studies of yellow fever, influenza, malaria, shingles, COVID-19, rabies, and other vaccines revealed early blood “signatures” that predict antibody and T cell responses, protection, and durability.<br /><br />Key mechanistic insights included:<br />- a link between cholesterol biosynthesis in B cells and vaccine responses, with statins potentially affecting immunity;<br />- the microbiome’s role in shaping vaccine responses through bacterial flagellin and bile acids;<br />- how megakaryocytes and platelets in bone marrow support long-lived plasma cells;<br />- and how vaccines can induce trained immunity through lasting epigenetic changes.<br /><br />He concluded that human and mouse immunology are not separate fields—only different models—and emphasized an iterative cycle of human discovery, mechanistic testing in mice, and return to humans.

Keywords

Ralph Steinman Award

human immunology

systems vaccinology

mouse models

dendritic cells

vaccine signatures

trained immunity

microbiome

human immune responses