BCG100 Members' Page

BCG100

On 18 July 1921, at the Hôpital de la Charité in Paris, a new-born infant, whose mother had died of tuberculosis a few hours after giving birth, received a dose of an experimental vaccine called Bacille Calmette- Guérin. This young child would be the first human to receive the BCG vaccine, which, over the coming century, would be administered to billions of people across the planet, saving tens of millions of lives that would have been lost to one of history’s greatest killers - tuberculosis (TB).

One of VALIDATE’s key aims is to 'help interested people in the general public find out more about our research and the diseases we’re tackling in an accessible format'. Starting on World TB Day 24 March and continuing for the rest of 2021, VALIDATE's BCG100 programme will consist of a series of events, a social media campaign and other online activities in order to mark the centenary of BCG. The campaign will aim to educate the public about vaccination and to promote the work VALIDATE researchers are doing to improve or replace the lifesaving but flawed BCG Vaccine. The campaign will also look to provide resources to allow our amazing members to undertake their own public engagement.

This project is supported by the University of Oxford Enriching Engagement scheme, funded by the Wellcome Trust.

VALIDATE Members - Get involved

Events

BCG Then and Now - A Public Lecture from the VALIDATE Network - 24 March 2021

In BCG Then and Now, Prof Paul Fine & Prof Helen McShane will take us on a journey from the initial development of the vaccine to the modern-day challenges in the fight against TB and the future challenges researchers face in replacing the enduring BCG vaccine. Find out more and register online.

BCG100 for Schools - 11 May 2021

A follow up/spin-off from our very successful VALIDATE for Schools event, Professor Michele Miller and Dr Wynand Johan Goosen from Stellenbosch University will be talking to students from around the World about their careers, their TB vaccine research and their work with African wildlife. Please help make this event a success by spreading the word -LINKFind out more and register onlineLINK.

Other Activities

BCG Adventures Computer Game

‘BCG Adventures’ will be a series of simple, browser-based, retro 2D and 3d computer games that aim to raise interest and awareness of vaccine development. VALIDATE will rely on its members to help make with the content of these games. Find out how you can get involved on the BCG Adventures page or get involved with the discussion on the BCG100 Channel of the VALIDATE Hub.

Each game will use a different playing style and can only be completed the level if the player passes a final quiz. We plan to develop 4 games:

• Albert and Camille’s Little Lille Adventure: An exploration and adventure game, viewed from above, where you navigate characters around a map of occupied Lille in World War I. Players chose to be either Albert Calmette or Camille Guérin and explore war-time Lille in order to obtain the necessary equipment and resources for their important vaccine research. As the player collects each item, they will learn about the methods used to create BCG, and how vaccines work.
• Welcome to Your Immune System: An asteroids type game in which the player controls different elements of the immune system in order to fight against a TB Infection. As they advance the player learns how the immune system can get overwhelmed and how a boost from the BCG vaccine can help the immune system fight against this deadly disease. They will also learn about the limitations of BCG and how it might be improved.
• The World vs TB: A map-based strategy game where the player has to decide how to deploy responses to fight TB around the world. The player will learn how factors like poverty, education, vaccine hesitancy, and politics play a role in the deployment of vaccination programmes.
• Vaccine Delivery Adventure: A side scrolling, Mario style action game where a healthcare worker has to overcome the challenges of delivering vaccines in Lower and Middle Income Countries (LMICs).

101 Facts About TB and BCG

We are also putting together a series of social media infographics containing 100 facts about TB and BCG. We need your help to add any interesting tidbits you know about TB and BCG. Take a look at the list and add your suggestions on the VALIDATE Hub.