01 September 2026 | ESCMID News | 5 minute read time
This year ESCMID established the ESCMID Vaccines Subcommittee in order to promote scientific collaboration, education, research and policy-relevant dialogue in the field of vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases. Here we catch up with the founding members of the subcommittee to discuss their backgrounds, why they joined, and what they hope to achieve.
Also, don't miss the upcoming Ebola vaccine webinar series starting 16 September!
Maheshi Ramasamy
ESCMID Vaccines Director
I am an infectious diseases physician based at the Oxford Vaccine Group. Currently, I lead early phase vaccine development programmes for Lassa fever, and vaccine/human challenge studies for Salmonella. I am also interested in immunisation policy and am a member of the UK NITAG.
As clinicians, we all understand the transformative effect vaccines have had on global health over the last 50 years. It is my ambition that the ESCMID Vaccines Subcommittee will help ESCMID become an authoritative advocate of good science and equitable access to vaccines.
I want to bring my expertise in vaccine development to the subcommittee to help clinicians to understand the science behind new vaccines and to feel confident in communicating how safe and effective licensed vaccines are to their patients. Addressing these key audiences can bolster vaccine confidence and strengthen global public health through vaccination.
Krutika Kuppalli
I am an infectious diseases physician with expertise in emerging infections, outbreak preparedness and response, global health security, and the clinical management of high-consequence pathogens. My work has included caring for patients as the Medical Director of an Ebola Treatment Center during the 2014–2016 West African Ebola outbreak, contributing to epidemic preparedness in Uganda, and working with the WHO Health Emergencies Programme on COVID-19, mpox, and Ebola.
I was drawn to the ESCMID Vaccine Subcommittee because I believe that vaccines are central to preventing infectious diseases and responding effectively to emerging threats and the subcommittee provides an important multidisciplinary forum for connecting vaccine science with clinical practice, public health policy, outbreak response, and implementation. Particularly, I hope to expand the subcommittee’s focus on vaccines for emerging and epidemic-prone pathogens, including how vaccines can be evaluated and deployed during outbreaks when evidence is limited and decisions are time-sensitive.
More broadly, my goal is to help the subcommittee become a trusted platform for timely, scientifically rigorous, and clinically relevant vaccine education. This includes developing webinars and other educational activities, encouraging multidisciplinary collaboration, supporting early-career professionals, and translating complex vaccine evidence into practical guidance for clinicians and public health practitioners.
Isabella Panunzi
I am an infectious diseases physician and epidemiologist with a background in humanitarian and global health, particularly working with underserved communities in emergencies and fragile settings. My scientific interests focus on implementation science and the social dimensions of vaccination: vaccines alone do not save lives—vaccination does, and achieving their full impact requires understanding and engaging the communities they are intended to serve.
We are living through a pivotal time for vaccines, and as a scientist I felt I could not simply stand by and watch these developments unfold. Joining the Vaccines Subcommittee is a unique opportunity to contribute to ESCMID’s ambition, strengthen the place of vaccines across its activities and, through ESCMID’s reach, help keep vaccination high on the broader scientific and public health agenda.
I would like to help bridge the gap that can sometimes exist between scientists, researchers and policymakers. I strongly believe that we are more effective when we work together, and I hope the subcommittee can strengthen partnerships across these communities, helping translate scientific evidence into policy and, ultimately, into meaningful public health action.
Michael Edelstein
I am a public health doctor who has been working at the interface of academia and public health service in several countries for the past 15 years. My focus is on the effective and equitable delivery of routine vaccination programmes.
ESCMID is a large and influential institution in Europe can be a powerful advocate for evidence based, science-driven vaccination. This is particularly important as vaccination is increasingly being put into question. I decided to join the Vaccines Subcommittee because I wanted to be part of this agenda and believe my experience complements that of other members. Together we cover very different aspects of vaccine science and can make a real difference!
I would like to see vaccines become a central component of ESCMID Global, and build the ESCMID Vaccines Conference into THE go-to place for anyone involved or interested in the topic. Through our events, research grants and other activities I think we can help build and inspire the next generation of vaccinologists.
Hanna Nohynek
I am a professor, medical doctor and vaccinologist with special competences in international health and travel medicine. My main scientific interest is in the impact of vaccines (both effectiveness and safety), and decision making (how vaccines come to national programmes). I also organise clinical vaccine trials/studies and contribute to their processes as an external expert.
I was drawn to the ESCMID Vaccines Subcommittee because I believe that ESCMID needs to have a stronger emphasis on vaccines. We cannot take for granted that vaccine research will continue to be as well funded as it has been before, and that populations will accept vaccines as they have before. Professional societies play a major role in this critical landscape, as we now have seen in the U.S.
It is my sincere hope that I can share my expertise and network with ESCMID as part of the subcommittee and together we can advance vaccines research and policy formation in Europe and globally. I am excited to be moderating the upcoming Ebola BDBV webinar series and the further ahead, the ESCMID Vaccines Conference taking place in September 2027.
Ignacio Esteban
I am a physician trained in paediatrics, pulmonology and infectious disease epidemiology and am currently working at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance focusing on vaccine policy, new vaccine introductions and programme implementation, and I am also an Associate Professor of Public Health at Austral University in Argentina. My career has combined clinical, research and public health work, including vaccine clinical trials. I especially interested in vaccine-preventable and emerging infectious diseases, epidemiology and disease burden, and particularly on translating evidence into effective policies and programmes to ensure more equitable access to vaccines.
I joined the ESCMID Vaccine Subcommittee because I believe vaccines are among our most powerful tools to prevent infectious diseases, yet access to their benefits remains highly unequal. I am particularly interested in helping ensure that scientific advances translate into vaccines reaching people in low-income countries, so that where someone is born does not determine their ability to benefit from innovation.
I saw an opportunity for ESCMID to strengthen its connections with global health organisations and other stakeholders working on vaccine policy, access and implementation. I hope to contribute to bringing these perspectives closer together and strengthening the voice of the infectious disease community in these discussions by fostering engagement with global stakeholders, including WHO, Gavi and others working to improve vaccine access, while creating more opportunities for early-career professionals.
More broadly, I would like the subcommittee to become a strong multidisciplinary platform for sharing evidence, fostering collaboration and ensuring that advances in vaccinology contribute to a more equitable fight against infectious diseases—so that scientific innovation can benefit everyone, not only those who can access it first.