Keynote opening
A lifelong journey in the field of bacterial diseases and vaccinology: Building teams to create innovative new vaccines.
24 May 2023 - Utrecht
My fascination with life and its natural enemies – pathogens – started early in my youth. Growing up on a cattle farm, being in close contact with the livestock in health and sickness, triggered me to think about life and disease. I was intrigued and wanted to learn more about life, its biology and chemistry, and about pathogens, especially bacteria, being the smallest and earliest forms of life on earth.
During my lifelong journey in the field of bacterial diseases and vaccinology, I have worked in different settings: academic settings (University of Amsterdam and the national reference center for bacterial meningitis, Fellowship at University of Washington, US), governmental public health setting (RIVM) and in industry (GSK, Janssen). And during my whole career, it has been my privilege to build and work with several teams over the years that have been contributing to the licensure of previously non-existing vaccines.
In my keynote lecture at the BCF Career Event I will highlight various aspects of the different stages of my over 50 years career, including over 35 years of experience of working in the field of bacterial vaccinology. By sharing my experiences, nearing the end of my career, I hope to inspire a new generation to start or continue a career in life sciences.
Jan T. Poolman, PhD | Global Head of Bacterial Vaccines Discovery and Translational Research | Janssen Vaccines & Prevention | Netherlands
Dr. Jan Poolman is Head Bacterial Vaccine Discovery and Early Development at Janssen Infectious Diseases and Vaccines, at the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson. Jan leads the bacterial vaccines team, which focuses on developing vaccines against the most prevalent antibiotics resistant bacteria. In his role Jan is also responsible for external partnerships and clinical studies. He holds this function since 2011. Jan is also a member of the Advisory Board for the Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI), and a member of the Editorial Board for the Expert Review of articles for the journal Vaccines. From 1986 until 1996, Jan was Head of Vaccines R&D at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands (RIVM) and later the Netherlands Vaccines Institute (NVI). In 1997 he moved to industry and was appointed Head & Vice-President Bacterial Vaccines R&D at GSK Biologicals in Belgium. During his tenure, he contributed to the licensure of several vaccines: DTPaHBIPVHib Infanrix-Hexa, DTPaHBIPV Pediarix, Tdap Boostrix, HibMenC-TT Menitorix, 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate Synflorix, HibMenCY-TT Menhibrix, and ACWY-TT Nimenrix. Jan began his career at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) where he obtained a Master’s degree in Chemistry in 1975 and a PhD on Meningococcal Surface Structure in 1981. In 1982 he was awarded an NIH post-doctoral fellowship research position at the University of Washington in Seattle, USA. In 1983 Jan returned to the UvA as Assistant-Professor Bacteriology. He held this position until 1985. In his career Jan published over 250 articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Jan T. Poolman, PhD | Global Head of Bacterial Vaccines Discovery and Translational Research | Janssen Vaccines & Prevention | Netherlands
Dr. Jan Poolman is Head Bacterial Vaccine Discovery and Early Development at Janssen Infectious Diseases and Vaccines, at the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson. Jan leads the bacterial vaccines team, which focuses on developing vaccines against the most prevalent antibiotics resistant bacteria. In his role Jan is also responsible for external partnerships and clinical studies. He holds this function since 2011. Jan is also a member of the Advisory Board for the Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI), and a member of the Editorial Board for the Expert Review of articles for the journal Vaccines. From 1986 until 1996, Jan was Head of Vaccines R&D at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands (RIVM) and later the Netherlands Vaccines Institute (NVI). In 1997 he moved to industry and was appointed Head & Vice-President Bacterial Vaccines R&D at GSK Biologicals in Belgium. During his tenure, he contributed to the licensure of several vaccines: DTPaHBIPVHib Infanrix-Hexa, DTPaHBIPV Pediarix, Tdap Boostrix, HibMenC-TT Menitorix, 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate Synflorix, HibMenCY-TT Menhibrix, and ACWY-TT Nimenrix. Jan began his career at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) where he obtained a Master’s degree in Chemistry in 1975 and a PhD on Meningococcal Surface Structure in 1981. In 1982 he was awarded an NIH post-doctoral fellowship research position at the University of Washington in Seattle, USA. In 1983 Jan returned to the UvA as Assistant-Professor Bacteriology. He held this position until 1985. In his career Jan published over 250 articles in peer-reviewed journals.
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