SEPTEMBER ENTRY
Supervisory team
LSHTM
- Lead - Prof. John Edmunds (John.Edmunds@lshtm.ac.uk)
Nagasaki University
Project
Start date
The prospective student is expected to start in September 2024. The student is expected to be based mostly in Nagasaki University. Please contact Prof John Edmunds, Dr Kaja Abbas, and Dr Akira Endo to discuss the project ahead of submission of your application.
Background
As part of the SCARDA (Strategic Center of Biomedical Advanced Vaccine Research and Development for Preparedness and Response) programme in Japan, the Vaccine Research and Development Center (VRDC), DEJIMA Infectious Disease Research Alliance (DIDA), Nagasaki University aims to develop new vaccines against a range of infections, including high consequence infections (such as Ebola haemorrhagic fever) and tropical pathogens (such as dengue fever and leishmaniasis). However, it is not clear how these vaccines might be used in practice and how they may be tested.
Proposed project
The research will involve reviewing the epidemiology of these target infections, and developing mathematical models of how they may spread. These models will be used to assess how the vaccines might be used to control the infections (e.g., responding to outbreaks of rare diseases or incorporated into routine immunisation programmes for common endemic infections) and to simulate clinical trial designs to assess different pathways to vaccine licensure. In addition, benefit risk-assessment of new vaccines will be conducted as part of epidemic preparedness, as well as health impact modelling of strategic vaccination scenarios. Potential research includes simulation case studies such as optimising dosing intervals for multi-dose regimens and extending use to lower-risk groups.
Funding
This PhD studentship is jointly funded by the Strategic Center of Biomedical Advanced Vaccine Research and Development for Preparedness and Response (SCARDA) programme at Nagasaki University, which is funded the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED). The student will receive identical funding as the WISE programme (https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/study/research/nagasaki-lshtm-phd#fees--funding).
References
- Vesga JF et al. Vaccine efficacy trials for Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever: Insights from modelling different epidemiological settings. Vaccine. 2022, 40(40):5806-5813. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.08.061
- Liu Y et al. Dosing interval strategies for two-dose COVID-19 vaccination in 13 middle-income countries of Europe: Health impact modelling and benefit-risk analysis. Lancet Reg Health Eur. 2022 Jun;17:100381. doi: 10.1016/j.lanepe.2022.100381
- Ebola ça Suffit Ring Vaccination Trial Consortium. The ring vaccination trial: a novel cluster randomised controlled trial design to evaluate vaccine efficacy and effectiveness during outbreaks, with special reference to Ebola. BMJ. 2015 Jul 27;351:h3740. doi: 10.1136/bmj.h3740.
- Nagasaki University (2023). Vaccine Research and Development Center, Dejima Infectious Disease Research Alliance. https://dida.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/vrdc
- CEPI (2022). Delivering Pandemic Vaccines in 100 Days. https://100days.cepi.net
The role of LSHTM and NU in this collaborative project
- John Edmunds’ research centres on understanding the spread of infectious diseases and how best to control them. This uses a variety of techniques, including mathematical, statistical, and economic models. He is particularly interested in using these methods to help produce evidence-based public health policy.
- Kaja Abbas’s research is on vaccine impact modelling with a focus on estimating the health, economic, and equity impact of vaccination programmes to support evidence-based decision-making on vaccination strategies in collaboration with partners and stakeholders at the global, regional, and national levels.
- Akira Endo’s research focus is mathematical modelling of infectious disease dynamics in the population and research interests include disease spread within and across households/schools/workplaces, transmission dynamics over heterogeneous social and/or sexual networks and quantitative design and assessment of optimal control strategies.
- The proposed project aligns well with the mission of the Vaccine Research and Development Center (VRDC), DEJIMA Infectious Disease Research Alliance (DIDA), Nagasaki University.
Particular prior educational requirements for a student undertaking this project
- Essential: Knowledge of infectious disease epidemiology
- Desired: Experience in vaccinology and infectious disease modelling
Skills we expect a student to develop/acquire whilst pursuing this project
- Design of vaccine efficacy trials
- Benefit-risk assessment of new vaccines
- Vaccine impact modelling