In February 2024, Maria co-organized the Lorentz Center workshop “Connecting people to reverse vaccine hypo-responsiveness”, together with Abena Amoah (LUMC), Julia Makinde (Imperial College London), Helder Nakaya (Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein), and John Tsang (Yale University). Gopal joined the workshop as one of the participants.
Maria, Gopal, which field of research do you work in?
Maria: I lead a group of medical doctors and scientists who study how the human immune system varies because of exposure to parasites in different parts of the world. In areas of the world where parasitic infections are endemic, such as Indonesia, parts of Africa and South America, the immune system is constantly challenged and therefore doesn’t respond as strongly. The consequences of this sit on the opposite ends of a spectrum. On one hand, you don’t develop allergies, but on the other hand, you don't respond well to vaccines. This is called vaccine hypo-responsiveness, and our goal is to address this.
Gopal: I'm an immunologist focused on how antibodies develop during infection and vaccination. Most of my work has been on malaria, studying how protective antibodies develop and how that knowledge can help us design better vaccines for people affected by the disease.
Like Maria, I’m also interested in why vaccines do not work equally well across all populations, specifically in the context of malaria research.
Maria, how did you get the idea of organizing a workshop at the Lorentz Center?
Maria: We wanted to organize a meeting to launch HypoVax Global, a knowledge hub I set up with the Spinoza prize I won in 2021. The goal of HypoVax Global is to connect people from all over the world who are researching the problem of vaccine hypo-responsiveness. We needed to connect new and existing partners, and the Lorentz Center was perfect to launch the collaboration and meet each other. We had participants from all over the world joining, as well as many participants from industry and funders. It was just fantastic.
What happened during the workshop week?
Maria: Based on your advice on how to manage and get most interactions, we had breakout sessions, some leading to very heated discussions. The topics of equity of course come up often in this conversation. It was very good to discuss in small groups and then getting back together and charting the way ahead. The discussions also formed the basis of a recently published Lancet paper. It took nearly a year to complete it, but people really worked together because they had gotten to know each other, had participated in arguing with each other, and in resolving issues. Everybody saw how important it is to discuss the topic of vaccines hypo-responsiveness together, Global North and South, industry and funders. Beyond the paper, several other valuable things resulted from the workshop: friendship, networks, and clear intellectual directions.
Gopal: I really appreciated that the scientists who gave talks really presented the actual data, discussed how they set up the measurements and how careful they are in interpreting the results. And later on, they were very open in talking and discussing with me about specific questions that I have had. So that allowed me also to understand the rationale with which everyone approached the question, which sometimes was quite similar to what I do, but sometimes not. And I could learn a lot from that very open sharing atmosphere.
What did participating in the workshop mean to you, Gopal?
Gopal: Immediately after the workshop I was introduced to the chief scientific advisor from Panacea, an Indian Biotech company. During the workshop, they presented amazing data on what they had been doing in terms of vaccine development, vaccine engineering, and what is really possible with them. We thought we could combine the knowledge we have built up on malaria vaccine development with their platform and see if it would work. It took a lot of back and forth, and the support of many colleagues at LUMC, but as soon as opportunity for funding came up, we could immediately apply for it because we had been discussing with Panacea for nearly a year about the potential things we could do. The application was successful, and currently a PhD student is working on it.
During the workshop, I had a very nice discussion with Alison Elliott's team (from UVRA in Uganda). We talked a lot about the fantastic data that she presented during the meeting and how we could collaborate. That really helped me in conceptualizing the question and hypothesis for my ERC starting grant, which I submitted 8 months after the workshop. And then last year I was awarded the grant. Talking to the right people at the right time really helped develop a competitive proposal.
What did you like of the workshop organization?
Maria: The name of the Lorentz Center has something magic. For me, Lorentz Center means science and high-level good workshops. I really liked the space, and how you provide rooms for people to break out but also to do some of their own work. The common room was excellent. It was really good that you had this coffee place where people met each other. And the way you prepared us and talked to us about it was very professional. Giving directions without being too pushy. It's just the right level of keeping people under control to make a successful meeting, to be honest.
Maria, you obviously have ample experience in global projects. What suggestions would you give to a colleague starting to work in global collaborations?
Maria: I think the starting point for global collaboration is humility, recognizing that there is talent and knowledge everywhere, even if opportunities are not equal. It should never be about one side “helping” the other, but about mutual respect and shared goals. Real collaboration means openly discussing ideas from the beginning, acknowledging inequalities and working to reduce them. We might not have identical needs, but then through respecting each other's needs, we can negotiate. Another important aspect for collaboration, now that we live in a time of data, is to ensure that partners in the Global South have ownership of their data and the opportunity to use it for publications and discoveries. Building successful partnership depends on trust, friendship, co-creation, and finding people on both sides who value collaboration over ego.
Anything else you would like to share?
Maria: I just really hope that the Lorentz Center can continue doing what it does, for many years. These types of places are so important, especially in such a polarizing world.
Maria Yazdanbakhsh (l) and Gopal Murugan (r)
Interview written and edited by Federica Burla
