“BCG more than a Vaccine…”

Presented by:
Herve Bercovier, D.V.M., 
Professor Emeritus in Microbiology. Faculty of Medicine
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

Host: Martin Zand, M.D., Ph.D., UR CTSI co-director

Bercovier is an international expert on the experimental pathophysiology of mycobacteriosis, particularly related to bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) and its derivatives in inflammatory diseases and the development of new vaccines.  His work has included the development of a derivative of BCG called EFD-BCG, which he and his collaborators have shown can immuno-regulate various inflammatory pathologies and prevent diseases such as asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and atherosclerosis in animal models. His current work focuses on translational studies investigating the beneficial effect of BCG vaccination among the elderly. This work has included studying BCG as a treatment for bladder cancer, and work that has linked BCG exposure with a low risk of Alzheimer’s disease.