Changing the World by Preventing Infection - The Science Behind Vaccine Development

Humans have evolved with infections. Infections may be responsible for more than you realise. In this session find out how infections have shaped our health and societies.

Dr Rajeka Lazarus is a medical doctor who provides care for those with complex infections and is interested in how we can stop these infections happening in the first place. Her main research focus is preventing infection through immunisation. She has been involved in testing vaccines since 2006 and has a PhD in vaccinology from the University of Oxford.

Rajeka will lead the session and interview Hazel, Stephen and Kevin.

Hazel is a Respiratory Consultant at UHBW with special interests in tuberculosis and lung infection. She has a diploma in tropical medicine and has experience of working in low resource settings including South Africa, South Sudan and Sierra Leone. Her research interests include vaccines, controlled human infection models and antibiotic treatment in bronchiectasis. She completed my PhD at the Jenner Institute in Oxford, working in the Tuberculosis vaccine programme, led by Professor Helen McShane. She also worked as part the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine trial team during the pandemic. She is also interested in inclusion health and reducing health inequalities for marginalised groups.

Stephen White & Kevin Moseley are Clinical trial participants taking part in the BiVIsta trial in Bristol, which is a human challenge trial testing a new vaccine for Typhoid and Paratyphoid.

Vaccination has saved 100s of millions of lives since it was invented. However vaccination is not without risks, and so how do you weigh up the benefits and risks? I will give a historical perspective from when smallpox inoculation was introduced in the 1700s. Famous Mathematician Daniel Bernoulli argued in favour based on probabilities; where mathematician and philosopher Jean D’Alembert argued that future risks are different from current risks. This reasoning is relevant today and I will relate it to present-day vaccines

Getting from vaccine development to routine use is a fascinating policy journey. Using the 2015 introduction of UK’s infant MenB programme as our example, Meningitis Research Foundation will explore how breakthroughs in scientific research lead to real-world protection. It’s easy to forget that when you receive a routinely-offered vaccine, you are witnessing the endpoint of a long, complex, and largely invisible journey – one that’s definitely worth celebrating.

Lucinda has a background in delivering clinical trials within the NHS and National Institute of Health and Social care Research. She now works at Meningitis Research Foundation, supporting vital meningitis research through funding, collaborations and partnerships. Her work contributes to the charity’s five‑year research strategy, focusing on better use of meningitis vaccines, reducing the long‑term impacts of meningitis, and improving global access to genetic data in order to better track and understand infectious diseases like meningitis.

Kieran previously worked at the UK Health Security Agency, developing national Covid-19 policy, including aspects of the vaccine roll-out. Between Covid-19 and meningitis work, he took a detour to New Zealand, where he sold cheese and roasted coffee – public health knowledge was not gained, but slightly arrogant food-choices certainly were. His current work focuses on closing the protection gap against MenB in adolescents across the UK, working with partners nationwide.