Synopsis:

Both RSV and Dengue have proved to be difficult vaccine targets.  In both cases vaccine development has taken a very long time, and in both cases some vaccine candidates have led to more severe disease in some individuals. We are currently in the middle of an era of remarkable progress in both fields, but problems remain.  In this talk I will summarize the paths that have led to the recent approval and introduction of vaccine candidates against both organisms.

Speaker:

Professor Kim Mulholland is a global health epidemiologist and vaccine researcher.  He holds appointments at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute where he runs the pneumococcal microbiology and immunology laboratories, along with major field research programs in Vietnam, Fiji, and Mongolia, as well as London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the University of Nagasaki in Japan.  He has led vaccine related research in low and middle income countries for nearly 40 years.  He currently leads Covid-19, pneumococcal, HPV, RSV and typhoid research programs.  He has been involved in the oversight of many vaccine trials, serving on steering committees or data safety boards for a range of vaccines including RSV and Dengue. He is a current member of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE), and a member of SAGE Working Groups on RSV and malaria vaccines.