Thierry Calandra

Thierry Calandra is Professor of medicine, Head Physician, Service of Immunology and Allergy and former Head of the Infectious Diseases Service at the Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland and an honorary fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies of the Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany.

Thierry is immediate past-chair of the International Sepsis Forum, past-chair of the Swiss Society for Infectious Diseases, the Fungal Infection Network of Switzerland, the International Immunocompromised Host Society (ICHS) and the Infectious Diseases Group of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC).

Thierry’s research focuses on innate immunity, sepsis, bacterial and fungal infections in critically ill patients and in immunocompromised hosts. His laboratory investigations have centered on the mechanisms of innate immunity and the pathogenesis of sepsis. Specifically, he has studied how microbial products like lipopolysaccharide (LPS, endotoxin) are detected by pattern recognition molecules and receptors including LPS binding proteins (LBP), CD14, and Toll-like receptors. His work has also explored the role of proinflammatory mediators, particularly macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), in host defenses and in the regulation of inflammatory responses. As a clinical investigator, he has been actively involved in designing and conducting clinical trials on the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of infections in neutropenic cancer patients, surgical and ICU patients and on evaluating immunomodulating therapies for patients with sepsis and septic shock.

He published over 300 peer-reviewed articles, monographs, and book chapters, which appeared in prestigious biomedical journals such as Nature, Nature Medicine, Nature Immunolgy, Nature Reviews Immunology, The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, The Journal of Experimental Medicine, The Journal of the American Medical Association, and Clinical Infectious Diseases.

• Lifetime Achievement Award, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne (2022)
• Swiss National COVID-19 Science Task Force, Expert Group, Clinical Care (2020-2021)
• Academia Europaea, member (2020)
• Senate of the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences, member (2017)
• Excellence Award, European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (2017)
• Prof. Jürg Tschopp Prize for Life Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lausanne (2013)
• Honorary Life Member, Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases (2012)
• Swiss National Science Foundation, Research Council, Division III Biology and Medicine (2008-2015)
• Program Committees: European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Annual Meeting (2015-2017); American Society for Microbiology, Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agent and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) (2001-2006)
• Fondation Leenaards, bridge-relève award (2001-2005)
• Professor Dr. Max Cloëtta Prize (2001)
• Hoechst-Marion Roussel Award of the Swiss Society of Infectious Diseases (1999)
• Swiss National Science Foundation, SCORE A Program (1997-2000)            
• Thesis Award, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lausanne, Switzerland (1993)

• MD, University of Lausanne, Swiss Federal Licence (1980)
• Doctor of medicine, University of Lausanne, Switzerland (1990)
• PhD, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands (1990)
• Swiss Board Certificate, Internal Medicine (1995)
• Swiss Board Certificate, Infectious Diseases (1999)
• Resident, Research fellow, Instructor, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland (1981–1991)          
• Post-doctoral fellow, Laboratory of Cellular Physiology and Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, USA (1991–1992)
• Senior Scientist, Assistant Professor, The Picower Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, New York, USA (1992–1996)          
• Senior physician, Associate Professor, Infectious Diseases Service, Department of Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland (1996–2006)          
• Chair, Department of Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland (2012–2016)
• Professor of Medicine, Head, Infectious Diseases Service, Department of Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland (2006–2022)           
• Associate Professor, Department of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Necker-Enfants Malades University Hospital, Université de Paris Cité, Paris, France (2022–2023)            
• Visiting Fellow, Center for Advanced Studies, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany (2023)
• Professor of Medicine, Head Physician, Service of Immunology and Allergy, Department of Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland (2022-present)