Rajko Reljic, EMI-TB PI at St. George's University of London, is participating in the Vaccine development for complex Intracellular neglected pathogens (VALIDATE) network for vaccine R&D, funded jointly by the UK MRC and BBSRC. The VALIDATE network provides a forum for cross-disciplinary and cross-organism research and directly funds projects aimed at delivering at better understanding of protective immune responses in both animal and human diseases caused by intracellular pathogens. EMI-TB scientist Alastair Copland has recently been awarded a VALIDATE project grant to study the role of alveolar macrophages induced by mucosal immunisation in collaboration with Prof Tracy Hussell at the University of Mancester.
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Co-ordination / Management |
Scientific Steering Committee (WP Leads) |
Scientific Advisors |
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Scientific Co-ordinator Dr Rajko Reljic |
WP1 Dr Rajko Reljic SGUL |
Dr Barry Walker AERAS Foundation |
Project Manager Dr Mathew Paul |
WP2 Dr Sally Sharpe DH |
Prof. Kris Huygen Scientific Institute for Public Health, Belgium |
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Dr Harry Thangaraj |
WP3 Prof. África González-Fernández UVIGO |
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WP4 Prof. Francesco Dieli AOUP |
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WP5 Prof. Mahavir Singh LIONEX GmbH |
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WP6 Dr Tufária Mussá INS |
Project IP Manager
| Institution | Name | Role in EMI-TB |
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St George's, University of London, UK PI: Dr Rajko Reljic |
Comparative testing of mucosal vaccine candidates, immune response analysis, coordination and management |
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King's College London, UK PI: Prof. Juraj Ivanyi |
Testing of peptide epitopes |
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Karolinska Institutet, Sweden PI: Prof. Martin Rottenberg |
Testing of vaccine candidates, correlates of protection |
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Universidade De Vigo, Spain PI: Prof. Africa Gonzalez-Fernandez |
Provision and immunological analysis of clinical samples, correlates of protection |
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LIONEX GmbH CEO: Prof. Mahavir Singh |
Provision of recombinant fusion proteins |
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Azienda Ospedialiera Universitaria Policlinico Paolo Giaccone Palermo, Italy PI: Prof. Francesco Dieli |
Identification of novel T-cell epitopes |
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Sporegen Ltd. CEO: Prof. Simon Cutting |
Provision and optimisation of Bacillus subtilis spores |
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Stockholms Universitat, Sweden PI: Prof. Carmen Fernandez |
Innate immune correlates of protection |
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CSIC, Spain PI: Dr. Mónica Carrera |
Proteomic analysis of clinical samples |
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Universita degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergana, Italy PI: Prof. Maurizio Fraziano |
Provision of liposomes for the delivery of T-cell epitopes |
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IGTP, Spain PI: Prof. Pere-Joan Cardona |
Testing of vaccine candidates |
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Public Health England, UK PI: Dr Sally Sharpe |
Testing of vaccine candidates |
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Instituto Nacionale do Saude, Mozambique PI: Dr Tufaria Mussa |
Provision of clinical samples |
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IMIC, Czech Republic PI: Prof. Peter Sebo |
Provision of vaccine delivery systems |
TB Facts:
- In 2013, 9 million people were diagnosed with TB and 1.5 million died from it
- TB is the second largest killer among infectious diseases (after HIV)
- TB is a common secondary infection in HIV+ individuals, and one of the major causes of death in AIDS
- In 2013, 360,000 AIDS sufferers died from TB
- TB is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis
- About one third of the world's population carries the TB pathogen in a dormant form
- TB is diagnosed by chest X-ray, microbiological analysis of sputum and immunological tests
- The standard treatment for TB involves 6 months of antimicrobial therapy with 4 drugs
- Multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) can arise due to incomplete treatment
- In 2013, 450,000 people were diagnosed with MDR-TB
- BCG is the only available vaccine against TB, but it is not always effective
Source: WHO TB Report 2013
Further Information about TB:
EMI-TB is an EU Horizon2020 funded action focused on selecting and developing a novel vaccine candidate for TB.
Tuberculosis (TB) is a global health problem, killing 1.5 million people every year. The only currently available vaccine, Mycobacterium bovis BCG, is effective against severe childhood forms, but it demonstrates variable efficacy against the pulmonary form of TB in adults. Many of these adult TB cases result from the reactivation of an initially controlled, latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection. Effective prophylactic vaccination remains the key long-term strategy for combating TB Continued belief in reaching this goal requires unrelenting innovation in the formulation and delivery of candidate vaccines.
EMI-TB aims to:
- Establish an optimal vaccine delivery system for inducing protective mucosal immunity against MTB.
- Identify novel, early stage infection associated CD8+ T-cell epitopes for inducing protective cell mediated immunity.
- To establish correlates of a protective immune response in MTB-exposed humans and vaccinated animals.
- To extensively test the most promising vaccine candidate in preparation for future clinical trials.
12 research groups are participating in the EMI-TB action, including a partner from Mozambique. Our research is supported by 2 SME partners. Click here to learn more about the groups involved in EMI-TB.