Stéphanie Longet, PhD

I am a biologist, Ph.D. in Life Sciences specialized in infectious diseases, vaccines and mucosal immunity with experience in academia-industry interactions.

During my master project, I worked on human papillomavirus vaccination. I characterized an in vivo assay aiming to quantify the neutralizing antibodies after vaccination. I also took part in the development of a prophylactic vaccine aiming at extending the protection to additional human papillomavirus subtypes not covered by the current commercialised vaccines.

My Ph.D. project was at the interface of academia and industry. In the field of immunoglobulin therapy, I studied the possibility to use preparations based on the major antibodies present at mucosal surfaces, secretory immunoglobulins A and M in order to specifically target mucosal infections. I characterized these preparations and assessed their protective effects against intestinal pathogens by using in vitro and in vivo models as well as the mechanisms involved in their functionality.

​

The first part of my first postdoctoral project was in partnership with a company and was based on the characterization of a novel oral vaccine delivery technology  in the context of an oral enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli candidate vaccine as well as the study of the formulation stability. The second part was dedicated to preclinical studies to test the efficacy of the oral adjuvant alpha-Galactosylceramide in the context of cholera vaccines and Helicobacter pylori oral vaccines.

​

At Public Health England (UKHSA), my project was focused on the impact of Ebola virus evolution on protective immune responses in humans. At the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic, I was involved in the studies to develop models to analyze SARS-CoV-2 infection and to test vaccine candidates. 

​

At the University of Oxford, I pursued my projects about SARS-CoV-2. I analyzed systemic and mucosal immune responses induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 vaccination in longitudinal cohorts of healthy adults, children, adolescents and patients (HIV+, immunosuppressed or diabetic patients).

​

I am currently developing my own team to develop intranasal vaccine strategies against respiratory viruses and to analyze memory responses in airway tissues.

​