Dr. Jean–Charles Cerottini: 30 Years of Immunology in Lausanne
Dr. Jean-Charles Cerottini
On May 30th, LICR held a symposium to honor the retirement of Dr. Jean-Charles Cerottini, the Institute’s first Branch Director. Organized by the Acting Director of the Lausanne Branch, Dr. Rob MacDonald, the symposium gave Dr. Cerottini’s past students and colleagues the chance to describe how his contributions to science have guided so much of the immunology research conducted in Lausanne and around the world. Dr. Cerottini responded to the accolades with a speech — summarized below — that expressed his gratitude to the symposium presenters and the Institute and also outlined his thoughts on the history and future of the Lausanne Branch.
Dr. Cerottini began his speech by conveying his feeling of extreme honor for the compliments he received throughout the day but noted modestly that he had been “incredibly privileged during [his] career to work with many talented scientists.” He expressed deep gratitude to all of the postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, research assistants, administrative assistances, technicians and collaborators who worked with him over the years. Dr. Cerottini credited his experience as Branch Director with teaching him the key to keeping a scientific enterprise vibrant; “… view it almost as a family and, in doing so, [you need to] support all of the members of the family equally, the more junior ones and the more senior ones.” He elaborated on this point by discussing the need to train the junior members to develop the next generation of scientists and, likewise, the importance of the mentorship role provided by the senior members to ensure the success of the next generation.
Dr. Cerottini shared his thoughts on both the past 30 years and the future of immunology in Lausanne by cleverly using the letters L-I-C-R. To begin, Dr. Cerottini discussed three main points represented by the letter “L:” Daniel K. Ludwig, Lausanne and, more specifically, the Lausanne Branch. As part of his tribute to Mr. Ludwig’s generous donation and his vision of creating LICR as an international network of investigators working together, Dr. Cerottini thanked Dr. Henri Isliker, who was present in the audience, for his persuasive voice in support of establishing a LICR Branch in Lausanne. Drs. Isliker, Hugh Butt, Carl Baker and Lloyd Old formed the Institute’s Scientific Advisory Committee for many years. As Branch Director, Dr. Cerottini mentioned that he is often asked what is necessary to develop a successful research institute. Admitting that he does not have a precise recipe, Dr. Cerottini emphasized two aspects crucial for the success of the Lausanne Branch: “the need for a critical mass of group leaders” with complementing areas of expertise, and “the need for direct interactions with other local academic institutions that share common research interests.”
Using the “L” and “I” of LICR to represent “Local Integration,” Dr. Cerottini pointed out that the Lausanne Branch has benefitted from a unique host environment of several outstanding institutions. According to Dr. Cerottini, these relationships have provided the Branch with access to top-notch facilities equipped with the most current technologies, in addition to translational and clinical opportunities. The strong relationships developed with these institutions and their many accomplished scientists was credited by Dr. Cerottini for creating opportunities for interdisciplinary research. Next, Dr. Cerottini highlighted the “I” in LICR in reference to “Translational Immunology” and addressed the difficulty in accurately defining the commonly used term, “translational research,” to refer to research activities that cross the traditional boundaries of laboratory research, patient-oriented research and clinical research. He offered the audience an insightful interpretation of this term — “a bidirectional interplay between the laboratory and the clinic” — and he stressed that the key element of translational immunology is using data from well-designed clinical trials to refine what is known about the human immune system.
Dr. Cerottini additionally used the “I” in LICR to refer to “Interdisciplinary Teamwork,” which he described as being critical for progress to be made in translational immunology. In this regard, he talked about the need to establish “teams of scientists from many specialties who are fully integrated into a sustained interdisciplinary team.” As an example, Dr. Cerottini elaborated on a collaborative group involving scientists from LICR and clinicians from the Central Hospital of Vaudois University (CHUV, one of the Branch’s host institutions), together forming the Multidisciplinary Oncology Center (CePO), and also with scientists from the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics. This example effectively illustrated how an interdisciplinary team can use laboratory discoveries to guide the research from bedside to bench to molecular modeling and back again, while making progress towards the development of a novel cancer immunotherapeutic approach involving the generation and transfer of genetically-modified T lymphocytes.
Lastly, Dr. Cerottini singled out the “CR” in LICR to represent “Clinical Research.” Dr. Cerottini talked about a particular book that he read in the early 1990’s, and the profound impact it had on his research career. At the time, he explained, he was thinking a lot about two contrasting research approaches to medical research: “reductionism” compared to “integrative research.” The book, entitled, “The crisis in clinical research: overcoming institutional obstacles” by Dr. Edward H. Ahrens, explained the need for a new approach to conduct productive, patient-oriented research. While reading this book, Dr. Cerottini became convinced that in order to get the best science to the bedside he had to do something himself, and this insight motivated him to establish a group that brought together PhDs and MDs with a common interest in patient-oriented research. It was this experience, Dr. Cerottini said, that made evident to him the need for structural changes in academic institutions to support a teamwork approach, in education and career development. For example, the importance of convincing young PhD students to work with physician scientists to foster mutual respect and understanding and promote effective, sustained collaborations, and the need to improve methods to evaluate and acknowledge the contributions of an individual involved in collaborative, translational research.
Finally, Dr. Cerottini addressed the future of immunology research in Lausanne. He discussed, with enthusiasm, the formation of a foundation last year which will support a new institute named the Swiss Institute for Vaccine Research (SIVR). Dr. Cerottini expressed his confidence that this initiative will once again demonstrate the excellence of Switzerland’s scientists and their ability to make a big impact in the field of vaccine research, as well as attract new talents in the years to come.
Dr. Cerottini finished his presentation with a quote from Albert Einstein: “Imagination is more important than knowledge, for knowledge is limited while imagination embraces the whole world.” According to LICR’s Senior Scientific Officer, Dr. Andrew Simpson, who gave a key-note speech at the symposium, the quote represented more than a comment on research in general. “I think that quote is entirely fitting for Jean-Charles’ himself, as one cannot doubt that the Ludwig Institute has benefited greatly from his own knowledge and imagination for many years. It was an immense pleasure for Ed (McDermott, LICR President) and me to see how much Jean-Charles is respected and honored by colleagues and former staff, because he is certainly held in great esteem by the Institute’s former and present Administrations.”
“Without any doubt, I consider my role as Branch Director as the most rewarding experience in my lifetime, and, hence I am most grateful for the opportunity to serve on the Ludwig Institute for so many years. Indeed it has been an honor and pleasure to serve with distinguished individuals such as Lloyd Old and Ed McDermott.”
Jean-Charles Cerottini, M.D.
Dr. Jean-Charles Cerottini and Mr. Ed McDermott