Why I Chose to Get E. Coli. — by Josh Morrison

 Josh Morrison is a glutton for (effective) altruism: he's a nondirected kidney donor (who founded the advocacy organization WaitlistZero), and he's an advocate of human challenge trials for vaccines, who founded the organization OneDaySooner.  He reports his own recent experiences as a challenge trial participant, in MedPage Today:

Why I Chose to Get E. Coli. — Human challenge trials can accelerate medical innovation  by Josh Morrison

" challenge trials have been essential for scientific advancements that may not have been possible (or would have taken much longer) with traditional studies. Challenge studies were crucial to developing malaria vaccines. The correlates of protection they established for influenza immunology are still used to license flu vaccines today, and they played an important role in discovering the origins of both ulcers and yellow fever.

"The E. coli vaccine study I joined was at the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Center for Vaccine Development (CVD). Two of my friends had been in studies at the CVD and had positive experiences overall. I felt like the E.coli vaccine in particular was an important one, so I decided it was time for me to participate too.

"To start, half the participants received the first vaccine in the series and half got a placebo. These initial shots and their associated follow-up were part of eight appointments over 3 months. At our appointments, we had our vitals checked and, in some cases, we had our blood collected or received another vaccine. At appointments the week after a vaccination, we'd provide a stool sample. The study culminated in a 9-day quarantine in Baltimore where were we were exposed to the infectious agent: It was time to drink the E. coli.

"The E. coli was suspended in a bicarbonate solution and tasted like Gatorade without the sugar or flavoring. I remember chuckling nervously as I drank it alongside my fellow participants. It was such an odd experience; I felt like an astronaut counting down for liftoff. 

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"People's motivations for being in the study included the money (about $4,500). But most of my fellow participants were also excited about the chance to be part of important research and were motivated by the novelty of the experience.

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This was the first challenge study I've participated in, despite having been connected to the field for 5 years. I run 1Day Sooner, a nonprofit that advocates on behalf of challenge study volunteers. Some of my colleagues have been challenged in Shigella, Zika, Malaria, COVID, and Salmonella studies. But I never have because I live in New York and I'm not aware of any institutions in New York that run challenge studies. That may sound surprising, but there are only about 30 challenge studies globally each year, and the U.S. is a relative laggard compared to Europe.

"You might be wondering, would I participate in another one? I would, though I'd prefer something outpatient that didn't require a strict quarantine."