He joined the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) as the Deputy Director-General for Laboratory Sciences in October 2005. The IVI is an International Organization established at the initiative of the United Nations Development Programme under the Vienna Convention of 1969 with the signatures so far of 40 countries and the World Health Organization. The IVI is an international center of research, training and technical assistance for vaccines needed in developing countries. It is governed by an independent Board of Trustees and is located in Seoul, Korea. The IVI works in close collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) in setting priorities, defining strategies, and undertaking needed vaccine-related activities.

Before joining the IVI, Dr. Czerkinsky has been serving as the Director of the Division of Mucosal Immunology and Vaccinology at INSERM (French National Institute of Health and Medical Research) since 1997, focusing on vaccine research and discovery of the basic mechanisms governing induction of immunity in mucosal organs. Dr. Czerkinsky received doctoral degrees from the University of Lyon Odontology Faculty in France, and the University of Gothenburg in Sweden where he served as a professor of the immunology. Dr. Czerkinsky invented the ELISPOT, a method for monitoring antibody immune responses in humans and animals, which is used in laboratories world-wide. His work has been focused on basic immunological mechanisms pertaining to vaccine development against infections, auto-immune disorders and allergies. Dr. Czerkinsky holds several patents in these areas. He is a co-founder of several biotechnology companies, including Maxim Pharmaceuticals Inc., a U.S. biopharmaceutical firm devoted to the development of therapeutic drugs for cancer and liver diseases.