Tobias R.  Kollmann

Research topics

1. Born Strong: Applying systems biology and AI to reduce maternal child suffering and dying.

My research centers around immune ontogeny as well as maternal and early life host responses employing cutting edge technology and analytics to extract the most information out of the small biological samples obtainable. As a clinician-scientist (Pediatric Infectious Diseases) I am fully cognizant of the increased risk to suffer and die from early-life infection. I am also keenly aware of the problems associated with applying systems vaccinology when assessing early life, as this period not only represents a rapidly moving target but is also limited by the size of the biological samples obtainable. However, our past and ongoing projects (detailed below) have proven this is feasible and that systems biology can be applied to small biological samples and with that early life host responses. Given the bulk of infectious disease falls on the children living in low resource settings, I have over the last two decades established working (and personal) relationships with colleagues around the world. This allows me to assess early life development across continents, reaching far beyond the comfortable confines of modern laboratories deep into the poorest areas of the world where children daily face their biggest threat in life. Specifically, my work has focused on the molecular mechanisms responsible for the age-dependent changes and has identified key drivers of immune development in early life (Science 2020 May 8;368(6491):612-615; Science Translational Medicine 12(542), 2020; Nature Com. 2019 10(1): 1092; Immunity 2017; 46(3):350; Trends Immunol. 2017; 37(8):523-34). To accomplish this we have established platforms that allow us to extract the most out of the small samples obtainable from our very young human subjects (e.g. JACI 133(3):818-26; 2014). These platforms have a technological backbone of several larger cohort studies around the world including studies with the NIAID (e.g. Nature Com. 2019 10(1): 1092; J. Immunol., 193(6):3003-12; 2014).

2. Paradigm Shift: Pathogen-Agnostic Effects of Vaccines.

Vaccines are undoubtedly one of the most successful medical interventions in human history. Furthermore, by broadening the pathogen-focused notion of vaccines to include the overall impact on host survival and wellbeing, we may even have underestimated the impact of vaccines. The concept of pathogen-agnostic effects of vaccines focuses on this broader definition. I have worked on this topic for years (Science 2020 May 8;368(6491):612-615; Science Translational Medicine 12(542), 2020) and was a member of the WHO Expert Advisory Group on Non-specific Immunological Effects of Vaccination committee (Nat Rev Immunol. 20(8):464-470, 2020; Nat Rev Immunol. 16(6):392-400, 2016).

Education

I completed my MD and PhD at the Albert of Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx NY, followed by a residency in pediatrics and fellowship in infectious diseases at the University of Washington, Seattle, WA with Prof. Chris Wilson. I then served as Division Head for Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of British Columbia, BC Children’s Hospital before taking on the Director’s position of Systems Vaccinology at Telethon Kids Institute in Perth, Australia. I currently am Prof. of Microbiology & Immunology as well as Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Dalhousie University in Halifax, NS, Canada. I also am the founder and CEO of the Born Strong Initiative (https://www.born-strong.org/), a global network of experts working to reduce adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Selected publications

Full bibliography on PubMed

- Wang Z, Amenyogbe N, Ben-Othman R, Cai B, Lo M, Idoko OT, Odumade OA, Falsafi R, Blimkie TM, An A, Shannon CP, Montante S, Dhillon BK, Diray-Arce J, Ozonoff A, Smolen KK, Brinkman RR, McEnaney K, Angelidou A, Richmond P, Tebbutt SJ, Kampmann B, Hancock REW, Lee AHY, Levy O, Martino D*, Kollmann TR*. Higher promoter methylation of the Ubiquitin Associated and SH3 domain containing A (UBASH3A) gene is associated with T-lymphocyte ontogeny and reduced susceptibility to early-onset sepsis. J Infect Dis. 2025 Dec; PMID: 41408597

- Andy Y. An, Erica Acton, Olubukola T. Idoko MD, Casey P. Shannon, Travis M. Blimkie, Reza Falsafi, Oghenebrume Wariri Abdulazeez Imam, Tida Dibbasey, Tue Bjerg Bennike, Kinga K. Smolen, Joann Diray-Arce, Rym Ben-Othman, Sebastiano Montante, Asimenia Angelidou, Oludare A. Odumade,  David Martino, Scott J. Tebbutt, Ofer Levy, Hanno Steen, Beate Kampmann, Robert E.W. Hancock, and Amy H. Lee*, Tobias R. Kollmann*. Predictive gene expression signature diagnoses neonatal sepsis before clinical presentation. EBioMedicine. 2024 Oct 24:105411. PMID: 39472236.

- Martino D, Kresoje N, Amenyogbe N, Ben-Othman R, Cai B, Lo M, Idoko O, Odumade OA, Falsafi R, Blimkie TM, An A, Shannon CP, Montante S, Dhillon BK, Diray-Arce J, Ozonoff A, Smolen KK, Brinkman RR, McEnaney K, Angelidou A, Richmond P, Tebbutt SJ; EPIC-HIPC consortium; Kampmann B, Levy O, Hancock REW, Lee AHY, Kollmann TR. DNA Methylation signatures underpinning blood neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio during first week of human life. Nat Commun. 2024 Sep 17;15(1):8167. PMID: 39289350.

- Fidanza M, Hibbert J, Acton E, Harbeson D, Schoeman E, Skut P, Woodman T, Eynaud A, Hartnell L, Brook B, Cai B, Lo M, Falsafi R, Hancock REW, Chiume-Kayuni M, Lufesi N, Popescu CR, Lavoie PM, Strunk T, Currie AJ, Amenyogbe N, Lee AH, Kollmann TR. Angiogenesis-associated pathways play critical roles in neonatal sepsis outcomes. Sci Rep. 2024 May 20;14(1):11444. PMID: 38769383.

- Kollmann TR, Castro-Rodriguez JA, Fish EN, Montgomery ST, Iturriaga C, Shannon C, Karpievitch Y, Ho J, Chen V, Balshaw R, Ben-Othman R, Aniba R, Gidi-Yunge F, Hartnell L, Hancock DG, Pérez-Mateluna G, Urzúa M, Tebbutt SJ, García-Huidobro D, Perret C, Borzutzky A, Stick SM. Interferon β-1a ring prophylaxis to reduce household transmission of SARS-CoV-2: a cluster randomised clinical trial. Lancet eCollection EClinicalMedicine. 2023 Jul 20;62:102082. PMID: 37538539.

- Multi-omic data integration allows baseline immune signatures to predict hepatitis B vaccine response in a small cohort. Rym Ben-Othman, Casey P. Shannon, Travis M. Blimkie, Nicole Gladish, Nelly Amenyogbe, Sibyl Drissler, Rachel D. Edgar, Queenie Chan, Mel Krajden, Leonard J. Foster, Michael S. Kobor, Bill Mohn, Ryan R. Brinkman, Kim-Anh Le Cao, Richard H. Scheuermann, Scott J. Tebbutt, Robert E.W. Hancock, Wayne C. Koff, Manish Sadarangani, Amy Huei-Yi Lee, Tobias R. Kollmann. Frontiers in Immunology, 2020 Nov 30;11:578801. PMID: 33329547.

- The non-specific and sex-differential effects of vaccines. Aaby, P., Benn, C.S., Flanagan, K.L., Klein S.L., Kollmann T.R., Lynn D.J.  and Shann F. Nat Rev Immunol May 27:1-7. PMID: 32461674

- Vaccination Strategies to Enhance Immunity in Newborn Infants. Tobias R. Kollmann, Arnaud Marchant, Sing Sing Way. Science 2020 May 8;368(6491):612-615. PMID: 32381718.

- BCG-vaccination induced emergency granulopoiesis provides rapid protection from neonatal sepsis. Byron Brook, Danny J. Harbeson, Casey P. Shannon, Bing Cai, Daniel He, Rym Ben-Othman, Freddy Francis, Joe Huang, Natalia Varankovich, Aaron Liu, Winnie Bao, Morten Bjerregaard-Andersen, Frederik Schaltz-Buchholzer, Lilica Sanca, Christian N. Golding, Kristina Lindberg Larsen, Ofer Levy, Beate Kampmann, The EPIC Consoritum, Rusung Tan, Adrian Charles, James L. Wynn, Frank Shann, Peter Aaby, Christine S. Benn, Scott J. Tebbutt, Nelly Amenyogbe and Tobias R. Kollmann. Science Translational Medicine 2020 May 6;12(542). PMID: 32376769.

- Improving vaccine-induced immunity: Can Baseline Predict Outcome? John S. Tsang, Carlota Dobaño, Pierre VanDamme, Gemma Moncunill, Arnaud Marchant, Rym Ben Othman, Manish Sadarangani, Wayne Koff, Tobias R. Kollmann. Trends in Immunology; 2020 Apr 8; PMID: 32340868.

- Nelly Amenyogbe, Amy H. Lee, Casey P. Shannon, Tue B. Bennike, Joann Diray-Arce Olubukola Idoko, Erin E. Gill, Rym Ben-Othman, William S. Pomat, Simon van Haren, Kim-Anh Lê Cao, Momoudou Cox, Alansana Darboe, Reza Falsafi, Davide Ferrari, Daniel J. Harbeson, Daniel He, Cai Bing, Samuel J. Hinshaw, Jorjoh Ndure, Jainaba Njie-Jobe, Matthew A. Pettengill, Peter C. Richmond, Rebecca Ford, Gerard Saleu, Geraldine Masiria, John Paul Matlam, Wendy Kirarock, Elishia Roberts, Mehrnoush Malek, Guzmán Sanchez-Schmitz, Amrit Singh, Asimenia Angelidou, Kinga K. Smolen, the EPIC Consortium, Ryan R. Brinkman, Al Ozonoff, Robert E.W. Hancock, Anita H.J. van den Biggelaar, Hanno Steen, Scott J. Tebbutt, Beate Kampmann, Ofer Levy, Tobias R. Kollmann ^. Dynamic molecular changes during the first week of human life follow a robust developmental trajectory. Nature Communications 12;10(1):1092. PMID: 30862783.

Highlighted externally funded projects:

- Coefficient Giving/Good Ventures Foundation (#GV673603381). “Fuel For Survival”. PI: Tobias R. Kollmann. 2024-2029

- U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. Kollmann Project PI. 2022—2027. “Immune development in early life’ (IDEAL). PI: Ofer Levy, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, USA.

- Human Vaccines Project. Kollmann PI. 2017—2024. Identification of age-dependent mechanism of vaccine-induced immunity to a single dose of hepatitis B vaccine using a systems biology approach.

- Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited (BHP). Kollmann Coordinating PI. 2020 – 2022. Containing Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Trial (ConCorD19) (NCT04552379).

- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation & Mindaroo Foundation. Kollmann Site Co-PI. 2020 – 2022. BRACE trial (BCG vaccination to Reduce the impact of COVID-19 in Australian healthcare workers following Coronavirus Exposure (NCT01989026). PI: Nigel Curtis, MCRI, Melbourne, Australia.

- U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. Kollmann Project PI. 2016—2021. Human Immunology Project Consortium (HIPC): Systems Biology to Identify Biomarkers of Neonatal Vaccine Immunogenicity. PI: Ofer Levy, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, USA.