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null Ciriaco Piccirillo and Brian Ward to lead Quebec Human Immunology Network for vaccine innovation

Supported by $1.5 M from Médicament Québec and key Quebec biotech partners, the initiative will accelerate vaccine development

SOURCE: The Institute
October 14, 2025

Médicament Québec, a program of Quebec's Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et l'Énergie, has awarded $1.5 million to Ciriaco Piccirillo, PhD and Brian J Ward, MD, to establish the Quebec Human Immunology Network, a groundbreaking initiative to advance vaccine development across the province.

The project unites co-investigators from four Montréal institutions with senior scientists from Aramis Biotechnologies—a world leader in plant-based vaccine production—and CellCarta, a global leader in immune profiling.

Ciriaco Piccirillo (left) and Brian Ward (right) are senior scientists at The Institute’s Infectious Diseases and Immunity in Global Health Program (IDIGH) and professors at McGill University.
Ciriaco Piccirillo (left) and Brian Ward (right) are senior scientists at The Institute’s Infectious Diseases and Immunity in Global Health Program (IDIGH) and professors at McGill University.

Traditional preclinical studies, while useful, offer limited insight into a vaccine's real-world performance. To bridge this gap, the academic-industry team behind the Quebec Human Immunology Network will develop advanced immunology platforms that generate detailed data from human immune cells and tissues. These tools will help to clarify how vaccines work. They will streamline development by rapidly identifying the most promising vaccine candidates, and help improve effectiveness. They can also advance other areas of biomedical research, including cancer immunotherapies and autoimmune diseases.

The team will develop innovative tools and methods for Quebec's vaccine research community, including:

  • A human tonsil organoid model that can be "vaccinated" in the laboratory
  • Platforms for advanced tissue sampling (e.g., draining lymph nodes, bone marrow)
  • Super-resolution microscopy to track vaccines in the body
  • Blood tests for multi-dimensional analysis of B- and T-cell responses
  • Artificial intelligence tools to build immune response profiles

"Our goal is to equip Quebec's vaccine research community with cutting-edge immunology tools to accelerate discovery," said Prof. Piccirillo.

"Combining the diverse expertise of scientists across institutions and industry in a collaborative network will greatly enhance the province's vaccine ecosystem," said Dr. Ward.

The project brings together a distinguished group of experts, including:

  • Natan Bensossan, MD (CHU Sacre Coeur)
  • Morgan Craig, PhD, and Andrés Finzi, PhD (Université de Montréal)
  • Marc-André D'Aoust, PhD (Chief Scientific Officer, Aramis Biotechnologies)
  • Hélène Décaluwe, MD, PhD (CHU Sainte Justine Research Centre)
  • Bruce Mazer, MD and Martin Olivier, PhD (The Institute)
  • Eustache Paramithiotis, PhD (Vice President, Research and Development, CellCarta)
  • Paul Wiseman, PhD (McGill University)

"We are very proud of the leadership shown by Prof. Piccirillo and Dr. Ward," said Dr. Rhian Touyz, Executive Director and Chief Scientific Officer of The Institute. "The Network embodies The Institute's 2030 Vision—fostering collaboration across disciplines and industry to drive innovation in vaccine science."

Médicament Québec is also supporting three complementary projects at Polytechnique Montréal and Université Laval. The total investment of $5.37 million aims to position Quebec as a leader in vaccine innovation. More details of all four projects are available on the Médicament Québec website.

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