Swedish physician, microbiologist and immunologist
Jan Roland Holmgren (born in Borås, Sweden) is a Swedish physician, microbiologist, immunologist, and vaccinologist, known for his research on cholera and mucosal immunology, specifically, for his leadership in developing "the world's first effective oral cholera vaccine".[1]
Biography
At the University of Gothenburg (Göteborgs universitet in Swedish), Holmgren graduated in 1965 with a bachelor of medicine degree, in 1969 with a Ph.D., and in 1973 with an M.D. His 1969 doctoral dissertation dealt with immunological aspects of urinary tract infections in children.[2] At the University of Gothenburg, he was appointed in 1969 a docentry and in 1970 an associate professorship. From 1971 to 1980 he held research positions at the Swedish Medical Research Council. In 1980 he was appointed to the University of Gothenburg's professorial chair in medical microbiology and immunology as successor to Örjan Ouchterlony upon the latter's retirement.[3] In addition to his professorship, Holmgren was appointed founding director of the Göteborg University Vaccine Research Institute (GUVAX), which was created in 2002.[4] He is the author or co-author of more than 600 scientific papers.[5]
Holmgren’s research has focused primarily on mucosal vaccine development as well as disease and immune mechanisms of cholera and other mucosal infections. Holmgren and colleagues first described the AB subunit structure and function of cholera toxin and identified the cholera toxin receptor, the GM1 ganglioside, then the first-ever structurally defined biologic receptor molecule. They were also the first to describe mucosal immune protection and memory in cholera.[5]
In the 1980s and ‘90s, Dr. Holmgren and colleagues at the University of Gothenburg developed the Dukoral™ oral cholera vaccine, which became the first internationally licensed and World Health Organization (WHO) prequalified oral cholera vaccine. The vaccine, which was tested in large field trials in Bangladesh, Peru, Mozambique and Zanzibar, reduced cholera by 85 to 90 percent in the first six months after vaccination. Unlike previous injected cholera vaccines, which conferred weak protection for only a few months, Dukoral™ oral cholera vaccine continued to provide immune protection for three years after immunization.[1]
His research contributed to the development of a vaccine together with Ann-Mari Svennerholm against Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC). Furthermore, his research has applications to understanding immunological mechanisms, such as immunological tolerance by oral immunization, and also to developing vaccines against some autoimmune diseases[6] and allergies.[4]
Rask, C.; Holmgren, J.; Fredriksson, M.; Lindblad, M.; Nordström, I.; Sun, J. B.; Czerkinsky, C. (2000). "Prolonged oral treatment with low doses of allergen conjugated to cholera toxin B subunit suppresses immunoglobulin e antibody responses in sensitized mice". Clinical and Experimental Allergy. 30 (7): 1024–1032. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2222.2000.00849.x. PMID10848926.
Holmgren, J.; Czerkinsky, C.; Eriksson, C.; Mharandi, A. (2003). "Mucosal immunisation and adjuvants: a brief overview of recent advances and challenges". Vaccine. 21, Supplement: S89 –S95. doi:10.1016/s0264-410x(03)00206-8. PMID12763689.
Sánchez, J.; Holmgren, J. (2005). "Virulence factors, pathogenesis and vaccine protection in cholera and ETEC diarrhea". Current Opinion in Immunology. 17 (4): 388–398. doi:10.1016/j.coi.2005.06.007. PMID15963708.
Holmgren J. Modern History of Cholera Vaccines and the Pivotal Role of icddr,b. J Infect Dis. 2021 Dec 20;224(12 Suppl 2):S742-S748. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiab423. PMID 34453544; PMCID: PMC8687080.
Holmgren J. An Update on Cholera Immunity and Current and Future Cholera Vaccines. Trop Med Infect Dis. 2021 Apr 28;6(2):64. doi: 10.3390/tropicalmed6020064. PMID 33925118; PMCID: PMC8167659.
^Holmgren, Jan (1969). On the antibody response to E. coli antigens in immunized rabbits and in children with pyelonephritis. University of Gothenburg.
