Dr. Oriol Mitjà receives a grant from the European Research Council to develop a vaccine against syphilis

Dr. Oriol Mitjà receives a grant from the European Research Council to revolutionize the approach to syphilis and its severe manifestations, and to advance towards a vaccine that could eradicate the diseas

Researcher Oriol Mitjà has been awarded a grant from the European Research Council (ERC), with a funding amount of 2.9 million euros. This funding will allow Dr. Mitjà to update and advance knowledge on syphilis, a field in which no significant progress has been made in the past 50 years. Innovation in this field is urgent, given that the disease is growing uncontrollably—especially in the past decade—and the tools to control it are clearly outdated and, therefore, ineffective. 

Syphilis and neurosyphilis

Additionally, Dr. Mitjà’s project aims to identify new diagnostic and treatment methods for congenital syphilis and neurosyphilis, two forms of the disease that continue to challenge current medicine, primarily in low- and middle-income countries. Given the intention to provide a comprehensive approach to the disease, the development of a vaccine that can immunize against all manifestations of syphilis will also be explored, a crucial step in controlling an infection that affects millions of people worldwide. 

According to Dr. Mitjà, “This project is a unique opportunity to fill critical gaps in the diagnosis and treatment of syphilis. Our goal is to contribute significantly to the eradication of this disease through the use of new tools. We want to shift the paradigm from which medicine approaches syphilis, proposing innovations in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of the disease in general, and its two most severe manifestations (neurosyphilis and congenital syphilis). If the project is successful, we will be able to offer personalized treatment to patients, emphasizing early identification and intervention for the different manifestations of the infection. Since we aim to update knowledge in this field from the last 50 years, our project also seeks to lay the foundation for a future syphilis vaccine.” 

The project will be coordinated by Dr. Mitjà from the Fight Infections Foundation and the Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital (Badalona) in collaboration with the IrsiCaixa research center and the University of Washington. Clinical trials will be conducted in China (Guangzhou) and Papua New Guinea, countries with a high incidence of neurosyphilis and congenital syphilis, respectively.