Elisabeth Botelho-Nevers
Medicine, Infectious and Tropical Diseases, Vaccinology – Centre d’investigation clinique 1408 Inserm, CHU de Saint-Etienne, Institut PRESAGE, Université Jean Monnet
As an infectious diseases specialist and head of the infectious diseases department at Saint-Etienne University Hospital, and fuul professor at Saint-Etienne University, I have always been fascinated by infectious diseases and their prevention, crucial therefore to be interested in vaccines. A large part of my work on vaccines involves investigation and participation in the clinical development of new vaccines within the CIC of Saint-Etienne as principal investigator and coordinator of numerous clinical trials. In the same vein, I am also leading academic clinical projects to gain a better understanding of immune responses to vaccines in different populations, in collaboration with my immunologist colleagues. For example, I’m coordinating a national PHRC on pneumococcal vaccination during febrile illness. In addition to an immunological approach, this project will also enable us to work on vaccination missed opportunities using human science approaches.
Working on clinical vaccine development, I felt essential to understand the acceptability of vaccination. If a new, highly effective vaccine is developed but is not used because its acceptability is poor, it will not achieve its effectiveness. In 2015, I launched a research project on the acceptability of participation in vaccine trials and then on the acceptability of recent vaccines in general. I have supervised several students (university thesis, Masters, etc.) using quantitative and qualitative approaches. The aim was to develop interventions to improve the acceptability of existing vaccines and those in development. This is now a team thematic.
Finally, as an infectiologist, I deal with the management of infections, including emerging ones, and I feel that it is vital to develop vaccines against these emerging infections, but also to ensure that they are acceptable. The COVID pandemic has strengthened my commitment and that of my team to clinical vaccine research at national level and to these issues of vaccine acceptability.