Editor’s note: This press release was provided by Katherine Kenworthy, Publicity Chair of The Manor Club

Dr. William R. Jacobs Jr., Ph.D., a Pelham resident and research scientist and professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, will be the guest speaker on the progress of the Tuberculosis Vaccine and the new Herpes Vaccine at the TMC Evening Section program on Thursday, Nov. 29, 7:30 pm.

In his TMC presentation, designed for the non-scientist as well as young people interested in science, Dr. Jacobs will review how the first vaccines were discovered as well as his current research. In recent years, Dr. Jacobs has worked with the PMHS Science Research Program allowing Pelham high school students to assist in his lab. Middle school and high school students may attend this presentation at no charge.

Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, causes one in four avoidable deaths in the Third World and kills more adults than malaria, AIDS, and all tropical diseases combined. In recent years, there have been dramatic increases in the numbers of new cases worldwide – one of the consequences of the AIDS epidemic. In addition to these increasing incidences, there has been an emergence of M. tuberculosis strains that are resistant to all seven anti-tuberculosis agents. These alarming trends have caused the World Health Organization to declare tuberculosis a global health emergency, a distinction never accorded to another disease.

“My laboratory has focused its efforts on developing systems to genetically manipulate mycobacteria, particularly M. tuberculosis,” Dr. Jacobs said. “Current research efforts are aimed at identifying genes involved in the virulence of M. tuberculosis, identifying novel drug targets, generating rapid and robust phage diagnostics for drug-resistant strains of M. tuberculosis, and engineering attenuated mutants of M. tuberculosis and other mycobacteria that can be used as live-cell tuberculosis vaccines.”

He will also discuss the research of his lab and Dr. Betsy Harold’s lab in developing a new type of vaccine that could be the first-ever for preventing genital herpes, which affects some 500 million people worldwide. His research used a counterintuitive scientific approach. “It was generally assumed that an effective HSV-2 vaccine must stimulate the body to produce neutralizing antibodies—particularly against a viral surface protein called glycoprotein D (gD-2) that HSV-2 uses to enter human cells,” he said. A protein that triggers antibody production is called an antigen. For decades, researchers have focused on “subunit” herpes vaccines that rely primarily on gD-2 as the antigen to stimulate the body’s antibody response—but none have prevented HSV-2 infection in humans. He will explain more in his presentation. His Herpes Vaccine has been successfully tested in mice and guinea pigs, and Albert Einstein College of Medicine has filed patent applications related to this research.

Dr. Jacobs’ talk is free to members of TMC, free to Pelham school students and a $10.00 fee will be charged to non-members. Reservations requested by email to [email protected] or by calling 914-738- 1528. The meeting will begin at 7:30pm. For information, call 738-1528. The Manor Club is located at 1023 Esplanade, Pelham.