The speakers
Meet the speakers
Professor Dr. James Triccas
Biography
Jamie Triccas is Professor of Medical Microbiology and Head of the Infection, Immunity and Inflammation Theme at the University of Sydney. He trained in bacterial genetics at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France and further developed his Immunology expertise skills in Australia as a NHMRC Peter Doherty Training Fellow and a recipient of a NHMRC Career Development Award. He leads an innovative and internationally recognised research program, utilising a multidisciplinary approach to define immunity to medically important lung pathogens and develop new treatments to control infection, with a long-standing focus on tuberculosis (TB) and more recently COVID-19. In 2017 he was appointed a Fellow of the Australian Society for Microbiology (FASM). Professor Triccas’ group has progressed TB vaccines from the initial discovery phase (e.g. antigen discovery) to the development of products that are being prepared for clinical trials. He has established platforms for the detailed assessment of vaccine-induced immunity, which have been used to aid clinical progression of live TB vaccine candidates. His group has broad expertise in vaccine development and testing, with vaccine programs for important Cystic Fibrosis pathogens, in particular Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Mycobacterium abscesses. He has been awarded patents on TB antigen discovery, holds provisional patents on antimicrobial compounds and a novel COVID-19 vaccine approach. His team has identified key correlates for vaccine-induced protection against COVID-19 and these modelling studies are being applied to predict vaccine efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. He leads the recently established vaccine consortium comprising the University of Sydney, ExcellGene and Bharat Biotech, supported by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to develop a broadly protective SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.