HypoVaxed Newsletter #5
In the fifth edition of our HypoVAXed newsletter, we highlight recent publications, new partnerships, PhD achievements, and a researcher spotlight. This marks our final issue of the year, with holiday wishes for a prosperous 2026.
Key highlights
- Personal view article published in Lancet Microbe on tackling vaccine hyporesponsiveness through global collaboration, diverse studies, and data integration, inspired by the 2024 Lorentz Workshop.
- HypoVax Global joins the Human Immunome Project (HIP) Scientific Partner Network to map global immune variation through collaboration.
- HypoVax partners and others publish a new article in Science Advances that reveals rural-urban immune gradients in Senegalese, Dutch, and Indonesian cohorts, linking environment to vaccine responses.
- EMBO Membership awarded to HypoVax Global lead Dr. Abena Amoah for immunoepidemiology work on environmental impacts on immunity.
New PhD Defences
- Dr. Yoanne Darelle Mouwenda (May 2025): Cellular immune profiles of Africans and Europeans in the context of vaccination and infectious diseases.
- Dr. Mikhael Dito Manurung (June 2025, cum laude): Mind the gap: unraveling immune variation across the global north/south populations with high-dimensional approaches.
- Dr. Jeremia Pyuza (November 2025 The immune divide: factors influencing immune variation and differences in vaccine responses.
- Marloes van Dorst (November 2025): Variation in the immune system and vaccine responses in Low to Middle Income Countries
Upcoming Events
- January 27-28, 2026: Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI) Annual Symposium in Les Diablerets, Switzerland.
Researcher Spotlight
Dr. Ross Laidlaw, bioinformatician at Leiden University Medical Center, analyzes drivers of vaccine response differences in rural-urban Tanzania and the Netherlands using yellow fever and SARS-CoV-2 data from trials and organoids.