University of Basel (UNIBAS) Children’s Hospital (UKBB)
University of Basel (UNIBAS) Children’s Hospital (UKBB) is a teaching hospital independent of but affiliated with the UNIBAS Medical Faculty. It is one of the 5 academic children’s hospitals in Switzerland, providing supra-regional tertiary care for the North-western part of Switzerland. The research activities of the Department of Paediatric Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology (PID) focus on respiratory tract infectious diseases with a main focus on pertussis and tuberculosis. Moreover, PID is involved in multiple national and international studies on epidemiology, burden of disease, treatment and prevention of vaccine-preventable infectious diseases. The leader of the unit (UH) has a long standing interest and experience in vaccine studies and has established the main office of the global network on vaccine safety, Brighton Collaboration, at the UKBB since 2000.
The PID unit at UKBB has a strong track record in pertussis research, advisory roles for national health institutes in Germany and Switzerland (including current NITAG membership of UH in both countries) and in international advisory roles for the WHO. We have experience in leading and coordinating several multi-center vaccine studies in the past. UKBB will lead WP4 on regulatory affairs and public health impact of the research. This will comprise the establishment of a focal link between work done by the consortium and relevant regulatory bodies and other key stakeholders.
Prof. Ulrich Heininger is professor of paediatrics and a paediatric infectious diseases specialist with a track record in clinical, epidemiological and molecular research with a focus on Bordetella infections. He has been in charge of the Division of Paediatric Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology at the University Children’s Hospital in Basel, Switzerland (UKBB), since 1998. Ulrich Heininger’s research interests focus on vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccines, and vaccine safety.