Alain Vanderplasschen

Prof. Vanderplasschen has a strong background and successful track record as a veterinarian virologist and immunologist. For nearly three decades, he has been studying host-virus interactions with three special interests: (i) understanding virus evolution, (ii) development of new veterinary vaccines and infectious disease mitigation approaches, and (iii) unraveling the mechanisms developed by viruses to evade the immune response of their host. Over the last ten years he has continuously demonstrated an ability to develop, in parallel, both fundamental and applied research in the field of fish virology and immunology. Furthermore, he is the laureate of several prestigious awards. Notably, in 2016, he became the first veterinarian scientist to obtain the prestigious GSK vaccines award (created in 1959) for his work: The infection of carp by Cyprinid Herpesvirus 3: a homologous host-virus model to study vaccinology and fundamental immunology. Other examples of the recent awards received in virology are the Francqui-Stichting Chair award in 2019 (University Catholique de Louvain) and the Collen-Francqui Chair award in 2021 (University of Ghent). Alain Vanderplasschen is also member of different scientific societies including the American Society of Microbiology, the American association for the Advancement of Science, the Belgian Immunology Society and the Belgian Society of Virology (being one of the three founding members). Of note, Alain Vanderplasschen was elected member of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium in 2014 and recognized as defacto diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Microbiology in 2021.