This series spotlights the new faculty that joined the YSPH Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases (EMD) program in 2024. Along with our student spotlight series, our theme this month is respiratory diseases. Here, new Professor Adjunct Dr. Louis Bont tells us about his pathway and some of his exciting research in a Q&A format.
When did you join Yale EMD, and what was your journey to get here?
This was a memorable moment and a career high for me. I was appointed Professor Adjunct of Epidemiology in the Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases within the Yale School of Public Health in 2024. This was the result from a fruitful collaboration with Daniel Weinberger (https://ysph.yale.edu/profile/daniel-weinberger/) and Virgina Pitzer (https://ysph.yale.edu/profile/virginia-pitzer/). My appointment was arranged by professor Michael Capello (https://ysph.yale.edu/profile/michael-cappello/). I was excited and proud to join the faculty because of the outstanding public health research done at Yale EMD.
What advice would you give early career researchers starting out in the field of respiratory diseases and EMD more broadly?
I have three pieces of advice: (1) fail fast, this is the most efficient way to move forward rapidly. Consider yourself as if you were a start-up company. (2) Be true to your passion: find the sweet spot in translational medicine (from basic to applied). (3) Look for people who are different from you - this may be hard but these people are complementary to you and will make you successful.
What do you look for in an MPH or PhD student looking to join your lab?
That is an easy one: the fire in the belly. All the rest can be learned.
What previous work are you most proud of?
I set up the Training of Upcoming Leaders In Pediatrics (TULIPS) career network for clinician scientists in child health in the Netherlands in 2006. This was only a few years after getting my PhD. The overarching goal is to ensure that young researchers in child health learn how to make a career as a clinician scientist by learning skills which PhD students do not always learn and that are not always considered “science,” such as ethics, negotiating, dealing with the media, and writing grants. I also founded ReSViNET, a non-profit foundation fighting the consequences of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection globally.
What are you working on at the moment?
RSV immunization was introduced in the past year in many countries. Now, together with my colleagues at EMD, we try to understand the impact of RSV immunization and the new challenges that arise. Should we worry about the evolution of immune escape by the virus? We study this in vitro using organoid technology and in vivo in prospective global molecular epidemiology studies. How does RSV transmit within families, and can we develop next generation vaccines with the potential to interrupt transmission? ReSViNET will launch a chatbot that has more and better information than chatgpt on RSV infection on World Pneumonia Day (November 12).
Where do you see the field of respiratory disease research heading in the next few years, and what role do you hope your work will play in this future landscape?
The RSV vaccine landscape is still developing rapidly, with new monoclonal antibodies and vaccines (live attenuated) reaching the market, too. I hope the work we do with the Pitzer/Weinberger lab will help make best use of these vaccines. This would include interrupting transmission. An important challenge is to better understand the molecular as well as the population-based aspects of viral interference as a relevant topic for the field of vaccines against respiratory viruses. Of course, we need to prepare for the next pandemic (perhaps it will be ‘flu again). The biggest challenge is reaching equity in vaccine access for all people around the world. I hope the next generation of young researchers are willing to work with us to reach this goal.