August 16, 2019 – SEOUL, South Korea – Dr. Jerome Kim, Director General of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), joins the Human Vaccines Project as one of four distinguished global leaders to help push forward its effort to solve one the greatest public health challenges of the 21st century, the decoding of the human immune system. Dr. Kim will join the Project’s Scientific Steering Committee, together with Dr. Soumya Swaminathan of the World Health Organization. The Honorable Julie Bishop, a 21-year member of Australia’s Parliament who spent five years as Foreign Minister will join the Project’s Board of Directors and internationally recognized Dutch virologist Jaap Goudsmit takes the helm as Chief Scientific Officer and Senior Vice President.
“The Human Vaccines Project is very pleased that these four accomplished leaders have embraced the Project’s mission to address the next frontier in human health, the human immune system,” says Wayne C. Koff, Ph.D., President and CEO of the Human Vaccines Project. “Their extensive expertise across public, private, and nonprofit sectors will greatly strengthen our organization’s capacity to successfully integrate biomedical, artificial intelligence, and machine learning technologies towards transforming the future of human health.”
Jerome Kim, MD: A physician by training, Dr. Kim currently serves as Director General of the International Vaccine Institute in Seoul, South Korea, and is also joining the Project’s Scientific Steering Committee. He is a professor of medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Formerly, Dr. Kim was Principal Deputy and Chief of the Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Pathogenesis at the U.S. Military HIV Research Program.
“The Human Vaccines Project is at the cutting edge of using new technologies in genomics, immune monitoring, and machine learning, to understand the mechanism of protective immunity with vaccines and immunotherapies, complementing our efforts to improve the health and well-being of the world’s most impoverished populations,” Dr. Kim says.
Soumya Swaminathan, MD: A pediatrician by training from India who is recognized for her research on tuberculosis and HIV, Dr. Swaminathan serves on the leadership team of the World Health Organization as its Chief Scientist and is joining the Human Vaccines Project’s Scientific Steering Committee. She formerly served as Secretary to the Government of India for Health Research and was Director General of the India Council of Medical Research.
Honorable Julie Bishop: Ms. Bishop currently serves as the Chair of the Telethon Kids Institute, a world leader in addressing the health of pediatric and indigenous populations and the Project’s first international scientific hub. She is also the incoming chancellor of the Australian National University. As former Foreign Minister and Minister of Education and Science in Australia, she brings a wealth of public health experience to her new role with the Project.
Jaap Goudsmit, MD PhD: A Dutch virologist by training, Goudsmit is internationally recognized for his research in AIDS, influenza, aging, and neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Goudsmit was formerly Chief Scientific Officer at Crucell, a biotechnology company based in the Netherlands, and has joined the Project as Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer. He also holds appointments as professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and professor of pathogenesis and natural history of neurodegenerative diseases at the Academic Medical Center of the University of Amsterdam.
“We are excited to welcome the Honorable Julie Bishop to the Human Vaccines Project’s Board of Directors and, in so doing, to further expand our strong partnership with the Telethon Kids Institute,” says Prof. Ian Gust, chair of the Human Vaccines Project Board. “And we are thrilled that Jaap Goudsmit has joined the Project’s executive management team, and that Drs. Kim and Swaminathan are providing their time and commitment to our mission. Collectively, these talented individuals will bolster our efforts worldwide.”
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About The International Vaccine Institute
The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is the world’s only international organization devoted exclusively to developing and introducing new and improved vaccines to protect the world’s poorest people, especially children in developing countries. Established in 1997, IVI operates as an independent international organization under a treaty signed by 35 countries and the World Health Organization. The Institute conducts research in more than 30 countries throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America on vaccines against enteric and diarrheal infections, Japanese encephalitis, MERS-CoV, Group A Strep, and Schistosomiasis, and develops new and improved vaccines at its headquarters in Seoul, Republic of Korea. For more information, please visit www.ivi.int
About the Human Vaccines Project
The Human Vaccines Project is a bold public-private initiative that aims to decode the human immune system to make the next leap forward in human health. Pioneering a new era in health, the Project will enable the creation of next-generation vaccines, diagnostics, and therapies across diseases. Learn more: http://www.humanvaccinesproject.org
CONTACT
Youngmi Cho, Head of Global Affairs and Communications
+82 2 881 1439 | youngmi.cho@ivi.int