London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

New Vaccines: Is an End to Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) on the Horizon?

With the significant public attention in recent months on the success of the HPV vaccine and the expansion of HPV immunization programmes in the UK to include boys as well as girls, the question is whether all sexually transmitted diseases are potentially vaccine-preventable. Wouldn’t it be great? But how close are we to achieving this goal? A number of vaccines against STI’s are currently in different stages of development, representing an exciting area for vaccine research and impact.

This year the Vaccine Centre's Annual Lecture will cover the topic of vaccine-preventable STIs with a keynote presentation delivered by Dr Sami Gottlieb from the Department of Reproductive Health and Research at the World Health Organisation. Dr Gottlieb is leading an ambitious effort at the WHO to develop a road map for development and implementation of vaccines against STIs and will present this work in her lecture. This event has been organised in collaboration with the Sexually Transmitted Infections Research Interest Group (STIRIG).

Bio

Dr Sami Gottlieb is a medical doctor and epidemiologist in the Department of Reproductive Health and Research at the World Health Organization, where she works on multiple aspects of the global epidemiology and control of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). She currently leads efforts to implement the Global Roadmap to Advance STI Vaccine Development, which focuses on the critical next steps to advance vaccine development for STIs such as herpes simplex virus (HSV), Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Chlamydia trachomatis. Prior to her position at the WHO, Dr Gottlieb worked at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, first as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer and then as a Medical Epidemiologist in the Division of STD Prevention, where she focused on the role of bacterial STIs in causing pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility and on implementation of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in the US. She received her undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences with distinction and highest honours from Stanford University and her MD degree from the University of California, San Francisco, where she was also on the Internal Medicine faculty.

Following the lecture there will be a question and answer session followed by a drinks reception in the South Courtyard Cafe.

Before the Annual Lecture there will be a half-day public workshop held on STI Vaccines. See more details here. 

The event is free to attend on a first come first serve basis. 

Please note that the main entrance of our Keppel Street building will close from Saturday 5 October until Monday 28 October for essential repairs. Alternative access will be provided on Malet Street, including an accessible route for visitors with a disability and wheelchair users. There will be signage to guide you to these entrances.