New approaches to infectious disease immunity for model-informed vaccine development

Organizers:

Terry Easlick (Univeristé de Montréal/Centre de recherche Azrieli du CHU Sainte-Justine), Morgan Craig, Univeristé de Montréal/Centre de recherche Azrieli du CHU Sainte-Justine

Description:

This session will bring together leading researchers to discuss innovative mathematical modelling approaches for studying immune responses to infectious diseases for the establishment of robust vaccination strategies. The objective is to foster interdisciplinary dialogue, showcasing novel methods and their application to key areas such as antigen-specific responses, humoral and cell-mediated immunity, vaccine dose optimization, and addressing challenges posed by waning immunity and pathogen diversity. This minisymposium will present complementary approaches to studying within-host immune responses to infections and vaccines. Topics will include capturing population-level dynamics, accounting for biological variability using stochastic models, simulating cell-to-cell interactions using agent-based models (ABMs), and extracting complex patterns from large immunological datasets using machine learning techniques. In particular, we will highlight how individual-level diversity (i.e., sex, age, comorbidities, genetics, etc.) affect immune and vaccine responses. By bridging diverse perspectives and methodologies, this minisymposium will contribute to innovation in model-informed vaccine development by promoting cutting-edge approaches to mathematical immunology that advance our fundamental understanding of individual immunity to bring necessary improvements to the vaccine development pipeline.

Diversity Statement:

We aim to foster inclusivity by showcasing perspectives across career stages, including a MSc student, 3 PhD candidates, 2 postdocs, a mid-career researcher, and 2 senior-level researchers. Additionally, to further promote diversity in scientific research, 5 of 8 invited speakers are from underrepresented groups. This aids in fostering meaningful dialogue and collaboration, reflecting our commitment to creating an equitable environment that supports innovation and progress in the community.