Biography
Dr. Samia Rourou is a scientist (Assistant Biologist) at Institut Pasteur de Tunis (IPT, Tunisia) active in the field of bioprocess development.
She held Biology engineer, master and PhD degrees in biological sciences (speciality: biotechnology). Since October 1999, Dr Rourou joined IPT where she was appointed at the viral vaccines development unit as biotechnology engineer.
In September 2010, she defended her Ph.D. entitled "Culture of Vero cells and production of rabies virus under animal component free conditions: process development & proteomics Study ". Later on, in October 2011, she was appointed as an assistant biologist at IPT.
Dr. Rourou is highly involved in vaccine development programs within the biotechnology development group. She had greatly contributed to the development of processes for the production of rabies vaccines for veterinary and human use based on BHK-21 and Vero cells culture in stirred bioreactor.
On January 2016, she was selected by WHO/TDR to benefit from a Career Development Fellowship (CRDF). The first year, she joined glycoconjugate vaccines laboratory at GSK, Siena, Italy. Then, she got a re-entry grant to implement a small project (beforehand approved by TDR) related to capacity building.
Since 2017, Dr Rourou adapted adherent Vero cells to suspension growth and rabies virus production. During 2022, she followed important trainings related to biopharmaceuticals development and production. On 2024 (23rd Mai- 2nd August), she was awarded by the RIGHT Foundation for Vaccine Manufacturing (mRNA process: didactic and practice) at K-NIBRT/younsei university, South Korea.
Today, Dr Rourou is leading biotechnology development group within IPT. She is managing national and international projects related to vaccines (rabies, BTV, NDV,..) and therapeutic proteins (antibodies, hormones, S-RBD of SARS-Cov2,…) development.
Research interests
Vaccine bio process development (upstream and downstream)
recombinant proteins development
Projects you're working on
List of projects
1. Project financed by the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research
« Development of an industrial process for the manufacture of rabies vaccine for human use by culture of Vero cells in a product-free environment of animal origin».
2. PI: IPT Internal collaborative project, round 2013: Assessment of the potential of Vero cells grown under animal component free conditions to produce a human influenza vaccine.
3. WHO-fellew (2016): WHO/TDR Career Development Fellowship (CDF): at GSK Siena, Italy: “Semi- synthetic strategy for conjugate vaccines as alternative to classical glycoconjugate vaccines: evaluation of the immunological behavior of peptide-carbohydrate and lipid-carbohydrate antigens.
4. Project« TUNGER»: Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research “Development of a novel and cost-effective rabies vaccine for dog livestock as an example to consolidate innovation management and technology transfer between a Tunisian research organization and a German private partner” (corresponding author for the paper published on 2022)
5. Project PALE-Blu: European Commission H2020 “Understanding pathogen, livestock, environment interactions involving bluetongue virus” (PI since 20 September 2020).
6. Project IDRC (International Development Research Center, Montreal, Canada) phase 1: A non-replicative adenovirus vaccine platform for poultry diseases (PI since 20 September 2020).
7. Project PAQ-Collabora: Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research
«Development of recombinant clones of CHO cells expressing a biosimilar monoclonal antibody for the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases» (PI since 20 September 2020). START:30/07/2018
8. PI: Project Valuation of Research Results, VRR : Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research «Development of a recombinant form of chronic human gonadotropin for pharmaceutical use» START 04/11/2020
9. Project rabies vaccine for human use, Institut Pasteur de Tunis «Intensification of rabies virus production process under animal component free conditions and in bioreactor».
10. WP2 Project RIIP « Easi : ELISA Assays development for SARS-COV2 within IPIN »
11. WP2 (Recombinant S-RBD sars cov2 Production), FRP Project “Fight, Predict, Act: Federated COVID-19 Strategy”; Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education for Scientific Research
12. WP1 Project « REPAIR » “International Pasteurian Research in Response to Coronavirus in Africa”
13. PI: IDRC (International Development Research Center, Montreal, Canada). A non- replicative adenovirus vaccine platform for poultry diseases, phase 2
Discipline
Bio-manufacturing Host species
Cattle Dogs Poultry Zoonoses Pathogen
Viruses Viruses›Bluetongue virus Viruses›Rabies virus Stage of vaccine development
Pre-clinical trials