Babacar Ndao

Etablissement Français du Sang

8 rue du Docteur Jean-François-Xavier Girod

25020, Besançon, France

Welcome to my GitHub portfolio, where you will find an overview of the bioinformatic analyses and visualizations I develop for internal and collaborative research projects.

As a Bioinformatics Engineer, I contribute to processing and interpreting high-throughput sequencing datasets (Whole Genome/Exome Sequençing, bulk and single-cell RNA-seq, spatial transcriptomic, TCR-seq, Immunoinformatics). My work involves providing tailored solutions to complex scientific challenges using tools such as R, Python, Bash and high performance computing, enabling impactful collaborations with multidisciplinary teams. With a background in Data Analysis and Modeling, I bring a strong foundation in data modeling and genomics, including hands-on experience in NGS analysis. My goal is to leverage bioinformatics expertise to support transformative biomedical discoveries while fostering innovation and collaboration. You can contact me using the links in the navigation bar.

Featured publications

IF 10.6, Q1

UCPVax, a CD4 helper peptide vaccine, induces polyfunctional Th1 cells, antibody response, and epitope spreading to improve antitumor immunity

Caroline Laheurte, Laura Boullerot, Babacar Ndao, Marine Malfroy, Lise Queiroz, Phillippe Guillaume, Romain Loyon, Evan Seffar, Eleonore Gravelin, Adeline Renaudin, Marion Jacquin, Aurélia Meurisse, Dewi Vernerey, François Ghiringhelli, Yann Godet, Raphael Genolet, Camilla Jandus, Christophe Borg, and Olivier Adotévi

Cell Rep. Med., Jul 2025

Abstract Pubmed DOI

The induction of an antitumor CD4+ T helper response is essential for the efficacy of therapeutic cancer vaccines. However, few vaccines are specifically designed to target CD4+ T cells in human cancers. Here, we characterize the immune mechanisms of UCPVax, a helper peptide vaccine derived from telomerase. Ex vivo immune profiling of peripheral blood from 60 patients with advanced lung cancer reveals that UCPVax selectively activates CD4+ T cells in vivo across a broad HLA-DR restriction. The vaccine elicits a synergistic immune triad, including cytokine polyfunctional CD4+ Th1 cells, epitope spreading, and antibody response, contributing to effective tumor control. Single-cell analysis further demonstrates that UCPVax drives CD4+ T cells toward effector memory and cytolytic differentiation. Thus, vaccine-induced CD4+ T cells trigger broad and durable antitumor immunity. These findings highlight UCPVax as an off-the-shelf helper platform to enhance therapeutic cancer vaccine efficacy. This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02818426.