Health Effects of Vaccines: From Genomics to Policy

Vaccines have revolutionised global health — but their impact extends far beyond protection against specific pathogens.

This international conference will, for the first time, bring together the fields of immunomodulatory off-target effects and vaccine safety, exploring how vaccines influence health more broadly and how these effects can inform the design of safer and more effective vaccination programmes. By connecting expertise in immunology, genomics, epidemiology, regulation, and policy, the meeting will create a shared space to examine emerging data and methodologies that reveal how immune, molecular, and genetic mechanisms underpin broader vaccine outcomes.

The programme will include keynote lectures, thematic sessions, and interactive discussions covering mechanistic and population-level perspectives, real-world evidence needs, regulatory and policy implications, and effective communication of complex vaccine science. With a focus on collaboration, the event will also provide opportunities for early-career researchers and colleagues from diverse global regions to engage and contribute.

Delivered in partnership with the Optimmunize Consortium, this meeting builds on international efforts to understand how vaccines shape health across the lifespan in both sexes — and how that knowledge can guide evidence-based regulation, communication, and policy.

Who should attend

This conference is designed for researchers and professionals working across the vaccine and public-health continuum, including:

• Immunologists, molecular biologists, and genomics researchers
• Epidemiologists and data scientists
• Vaccine safety specialists, regulatory scientists, and policymakers
• Public-health researchers, clinicians, and programme managers
• Communication and engagement professionals in vaccine science and safety
• Early-career researchers looking to expand their expertise and networks

The conference will run Monday 11 – Wednesday 13 May 2026. The programme will provide a high-level overview of the latest research and discussion across molecular biology, genomics, epidemiology, and policy, highlighting how integrated approaches can improve vaccine safety, regulation, and communication.

Sessions will include:

• The importance of genomics for immunomodulatory effects of vaccines
• Immunobiology of vaccines across the life course in both sexes
• Vaccine safety: balancing benefit and risk
• Immunomodulatory effects of vaccines: mechanisms and outcomes
• Translating immunomodulatory effects into vaccine policy
• Communicating about vaccines and engaging early-career researchers in an era of scepticism
• Integrating public health and genomic insights

Related event

We are delighted to confirm that Human Immunology: Genes and Environment will be taking place in the same week as Health Effects of Vaccines: From Genomics to Policy.

Registered attendees of Health Effects of Vaccines: From Genomics to Policy, are eligible for the following exclusive benefits:

• Complimentary access to the on-demand recordings from Human Immunology: Genes and Environment following the event.
• 30% discount on registration to attend Human Immunology: Genes and Environment in person.

After completing your registration for Health Effects of Vaccines you will receive a discount code via email to apply when registering for Human Immunology: Genes and Environment. 

Scientific programme committee

Keynote speakers

Workshop speakers

Panellists

Speakers

Organisers

Registration deadline:  13 April 2026 (in person) | 4 May 2026 (virtual)

In-person Registration	Fee
Student/trainee	£410
Academic/non-profit organisation	£515
Healthcare professional	£515
Commercial/for-profit organisation	£620
Onsite accommodation	£228

The in-person registration fee includes:

• Full access to scientific programme: oral and poster presentations, and networking on campus
• Access to the online conference portal to network with online participants
• Meals (lunch and dinner) and refreshments during the conference. Breakfast will be provided for delegates who have booked onsite accommodation.
• Recordings of the live-stream sessions, which will be available ‘on-demand’ for four weeks after the event ends

Virtual Registration	Fee
Delegates from LMICs*	Free
Student/trainee	£55
Academic/non-profit organisation	£105
Healthcare professional	£105
Commercial/for-profit organisation	£165

Virtual registration fee includes:

• Access to the virtual event portal (Log in details will be emailed a few days before the event starts)
• Live-stream sessions, including posters and online networking channels
• Recordings of the live-stream sessions, available ‘on-demand’ for four weeks after the event ends.

* To promote more inclusive scientific discussions with international colleagues at our conferences, virtual delegates based in Lower and Middle-Income Countries can register for free (see list of countries here).

If you are an editor or journalist, please contact the conference organiser for more information about the discounted fee or media pass.

Accommodation
Booked accommodation is for the nights of 11 and 12 May 2026.
Please note: there is limited onsite accommodation and this will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis; therefore, early registration is recommended.

If you wish to book campus accommodation either side of the conference dates, please contact the Hinxton Hall Conference Centre directly.

Accommodation services phishing scam – please be vigilant. More information.

Travel visas

Please check the UK government website for advice on whether you will need a visa or an electronic travel authorisation and how to obtain one: https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor. 

Confirmed attendees requiring a letter to support a visa application should contact our events team.

Bursaries

Bursary deadline: 2 February 2026

Wellcome Connecting Science offers registration bursaries (usually up to 50% of the registration fee) to those who would benefit from attending the conference but face financial barriers to attending events.

Priority will be given to PhD students/trainees,  applicants from lower and middle income countries, or those from underrepresented/minoritised groups. Other early career researchers will be considered if funds allow.

To apply for funding support, please register and then select that you want to apply for a bursary. This will direct you to the online application form. Please explain why you need support and how you will benefit from attending the conference. Once you have submitted the application form, you will be emailed an abstract portal link. Please use this to submit your abstract before bursary deadline.

Applications without abstracts will only be considered in exceptional circumstances.

Additional funding opportunities

Visit our support page for information on financial support, including carer grants to help delegates with the costs of caring for children or dependent family members while attending a course or a conference.

Abstract deadline: 2 March 2026

We welcome abstracts from all areas relevant to the main themes of the meeting, for both oral and poster presentations. Several oral presentations will be chosen from the abstracts submitted. Presenters of oral presentations are expected to be onsite for the duration of the conference, whereas those presenting posters can do so in person or virtually.

To submit an abstract, you must first register for the conference. Once your registration is completed, you will be emailed a link to submit to the abstract submission portal. If you wish to edit your abstract following submission, please use the link in the abstract acknowledgement email.

All abstracts must be submitted and, if desired, edited by the deadline. The scientific programme committee will then assess your abstract and you will be notified about 2 weeks after the deadline whether you have been selected to present an oral or poster presentation. If you require acknowledgment that your abstract has been accepted earlier than this, please contact the event organiser.

Poster boards onsite will accommodate 118 cm high by 84 cm wide (A0-portrait) of printed material. Accepted abstracts will appear in the conference programme book; poster board numbers will be allocated at the conference.

All those accepted for a poster presentation will also have the opportunity present a ~1 min ‘poster pitch’ summarising their work.

 

If you are interested in supporting this meeting, please contact us.

For more information about the benefits of having a presence at this meeting, see our sponsorship page.