Marwa El Hadjj

I started my scientific journey in 2015 at the Lebanese American University in Beirut, Lebanon as a Biology student. I later decided to get a teaching diploma in sciences to expand the knowledge of young ambitious scientists. In 2019, I decided to move to France to pursue my Masters degree in Tissue, cell and gene biotherapies at Université Paris Saclay. However, during the Covid-19 pandemic, I got more interested in the fields of immunology and vaccinology, therefore I applied for the anti-infectious immunnity and vaccines Masters program at Université Paris Est Créteil and I was ranked 1st ; and after receiving the EUR-Live master scholarship, I got the opportunity to do my internship at the Vaccine Research Institute (VRI) in Créteil. More recently, I received the EUR-Live PhD Grant allowing me to pursue my project at the VRI focusing on CD40-targeting vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in vulnerable populations. 

Research project: 

CD40 targeting vaccination to prevent SARS-CoV2 infection in vulnerable populations

“Vulnerable individuals are particularly affected by infectious diseases (higher frequency of infected individuals and higher severity of infections) mainly due to immunodeficiencies which result from immunosenescence in the elderly or iatrogenic causes in patients whose medical condition requires immunosuppressive treatments. In the elderly, infectious diseases are frequently associated with long term-sequelae, such as the decrease in activities of daily living, the beginning of frailty, or the loss of independence (Janssens JP. Curr Opin Pulm Med. 2005). In immunocompromised patients, infection can either turn chronic and also generate long lasting healthcare issues or be fatal (Bousfiha AA. Et al. J Clin Immunol 2013). Prevention of infections becomes thus essential to ensure healthy ageing with an increasing worldwide population aged over 60 that will reach 2.1 billion by 2050 (Unites Nations World population prospects. 2017. http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp. Accessed 30 July 2017) and manage to control infections in immunocompromised patients, i.e. 2% of the world population. Vaccination is the most promising strategy to achieve this goal. However, most currently available vaccines are less immunogenic and effective in older than young adults. Indeed, with age, the immune system undergoes several changes, which lead to dysfunctions. Vaccination of immunocompromised patients is also challenging both regarding efficacy and safety. It is thus essential to develop approaches to improve vaccine efficacy in these two vulnerable populations.”