UCLA Fielding's Dr. John Clemens, professor in the Department of Epidemiology, honored for research on cholera and cholera vaccines

Dr. John Clemens, a physician and professor in the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health’s Department of Epidemiology, has been named a laureate of the John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health Award for outstanding achievements in global health research.

Clemens and his co-laureate, Dr. Jan Holmgren, of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, were honored by the Gairdner Foundation for their work to understand “cholera disease and immunity, and for the development and evaluation of safe, effective, and affordable inactivated oral cholera vaccines that have enabled cholera control worldwide." The awards, which are supported by the Canadian government, were announced March 31 by the Toronto-based foundation.

The John Dirks award recognizes the world’s leading researchers who have used rational, scientifically based research to improve the wellbeing of those facing health inequalities worldwide, Gairdner Foundation officials said. 

“The discoveries recognized by the Canada Gairdner Awards this year demonstrate how fundamental research can deepen our understanding of biology and lead to advances that improve health around the world,” stated Dr. Janet Rossant, president and scientific director of the Gairdner Foundation. “We are proud to honor scientists who are expanding the frontiers of knowledge and shaping the future of medicine."

Cholera is a severe diarrheal disease that that can be fatal within hours if not treated, and can spread quickly in communities without access to clean water and proper sanitation, causing thousands of deaths each year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO recommends oral cholera vaccines (OCVs) for both ongoing outbreaks and areas where cholera is common. 

Clemens, an epidemiologist, and Holmgren, an immunologist, have worked together for more than 40 years to transform global cholera control by creating OCVs that are safe, effective, and affordable. Their work spans laboratory research, vaccine development, clinical trials, and field research to provide the evidence basis for policy decisions on the introduction of OCVs into public health programs.

“I must admit I’m not a laboratory scientist; fortuitously, I was able to link up with professor Jan Holmgren, and my clinical and epidemiological skills and Jan’s basic science discovery skills formed a perfect partnership that has really sustained the work that we have done over the past four decades,” said Clemens, who has served with the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the World Health Organization. “One thing about our business, my circle of close friends aligns fairly closely with my circle of close scientific collaborators; friendship and science were never very far apart from each other and we're very, very sustaining.”

Holmgren’s fundamental research showed how cholera causes disease and how immunity develops, demonstrated that oral vaccines provide strong protection, and identified the components needed for effective immunity, experts said.

Building on Holmgren’s discoveries and vaccine development, Clemens led large field trials in cholera-affected communities, which showed that the OCVs were safe, offered lasting protection, and reduced transmission in the wider community. Clemens’ team at the International Vaccine Institute, working with Holmgren, also developed the world’s first inexpensive, safe and effective OCV. The WHO’s global OCV stockpile has provided OCV to over 100 million persons in cholera-affected settings.

“My greatest happiness today, and also I think the great joy I feel, is the long collaboration Dr. Clemens and I have had, and that these oral cholera vaccines which we've developed a long time ago, have finally come to be used to save lives all around the world,” Holmgren said.

Roughly a quarter of Gairdner Award recipients have also been recognized as Nobel laureates, experts said.

“These are among the world’s most prestigious prizes in biomedical and health research,” said Dr. Zuo-Feng Zhang, distinguished professor and chair of epidemiology at UCLA Fielding and a former WHO researcher. “They are often seen as a predictor of Nobel prizes.”