As the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda continues to spread — with over 2,000 cases and more than 600 deaths — host Jill Morgan sits down with Dr. Tom Geisbert, a leading virologist and professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston.
Dr. Geisbert has spent decades developing vaccines for some of the world's deadliest pathogens, including the vaccine that became Ervebo, the first licensed Ebola vaccine. In this episode, he explains why a vaccine that works against one Ebola species — like the current outbreak's Bundibugyo strain — doesn't necessarily protect against another, and why a promising Bundibugyo vaccine developed over a decade ago has been sitting on the shelf for lack of funding and market interest.
Jill and Dr. Geisbert break down the science behind mRNA and viral-vector (VSV-based) vaccine platforms, weighing their tradeoffs in speed, durability, and manufacturing complexity — and discuss why fast-acting, single-dose protection matters so much in outbreak response and ring vaccination strategies.
The conversation also turns to other high-consequence pathogens on Dr. Geisbert's radar, including Nipah virus, and to the bigger picture: what true pandemic preparedness would look like, from broad-spectrum antivirals to multivalent vaccines, and why investing in the next generation of scientists is critical to staying ahead of the next outbreak
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Guest
Thomas Geisbert, PhD
Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology
University of Texas Medical Branch – Galveston, Texas, USA
Dr. Geisbert is currently a Professor in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. He has considerable experience conducting experiments utilizing NHPs in high biocontainment, with over 29 years’ BSL-4 experience at USAMRIID and at the GNL. He has experience managing large research programs, including a current U19 Center of Excellence for Translational Research grant. His research interests have focused on the study of hemorrhagic fever viruses and he has published extensively in this area. His research group was the first to demonstrate complete protection of NHPs against both Ebola and Marburg viruses and Lassa virus using a novel vaccine based on recombinant VSV. More recently, they demonstrated that this vaccine is capable of providing postexposure protection against filoviruses in NHPs. His group also performed the first studies to show complete postexposure protection of NHPs against the Zaire species of Ebola virus using a novel siRNA-based strategy. In addition, he has extensive experience in developing and refining appropriate animal models that mimic human disease, including the NHP model used in this project.
Host
Jill Morgan, RN
Emory Healthcare, Atlanta, GA
Jill Morgan is a registered nurse and a subject matter expert in personal protective equipment (PPE) for NETEC. For 35 years, Jill has been an emergency department and critical care nurse, and now splits her time between education for NETEC and clinical research, most of it centering around infection prevention and personal protective equipment. She is a member of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), ASTM International, and the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI)
Resources
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The National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center’s mission is to set the gold standard for special pathogen preparedness and response across health systems in the U.S. with the goals of driving best practices, closing knowledge gaps, and developing innovative resources.
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