As a researcher and academic, Ger Rijkers studies the interaction between the human immune system and micro-organisms of the respiratory and gastrointestinal tract, in immunoregulation, and healthy ageing (at the beginning and end of life). His favorite micro-organism is Streptococcus pneumoniae. In addition to his work at University College Roosevelt, he is a medical immunologist and senior scientist at the Laboratory of Medical Microbiology and Immunology of the St Elizabeth Hospital in Tilburg, The Netherlands. He has published over 350 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals, as well as a textbook on Immunology. He is Co-Editor in Chief of the BMC journal Pneumonia.
Stephen I. Pelton is Professor of Pediatrics and Epidemiology at Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health in Massachusetts. He is also former Director of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Boston Medical Center (BMC) and current Coordinator of Pediatric AIDS Program. His laboratory is focused on vaccine-preventable diseases, especially those due to Streptococcus pneumoniae and new vaccines for prevention of respiratory tract infection due to nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae. Professor Pelton’s work has led to his recognition as a leading clinical scientist in studies of the impact of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine on invasive and respiratory tract disease in children. He is Co-Editor in Chief of the BMC journal Pneumonia
