A multidisciplinary journey to approach public health challenges
Résumé
The focus of my research has been on the epidemiology of vaccine preventable diseases. This included the evaluation of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in a high HIV-burden setting, epidemiology of respiratory viral associated-pneumonia, and the impact of vaccination during pregnancy on the foetus and newborn. Included in my research portfolio are two pivotal randomized placebo-controlled trials of influenza vaccination during pregnancy and a third trial, using different vaccination regimens among HIV-infected women. These trials demonstrated the effect of vaccinating pregnant women on the prevention of influenza illness in the vaccinated mothers and their infants. The findings from the studies were pivotal in the Scientific Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) formulating World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for the prioritisation of influenza vaccination of pregnant women in low-middle income countries, and for the change in indication and labelling of influenza vaccines in Europe to include pregnancy. I conducted large epidemiological studies on the burden of COVID-19 among pregnant women, hospitalized adults and healthcare workers. Furthermore, in a prospective hospital-based surveillance I investigated the burden of Influenza, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), and Pertussis infections in children. With the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, I was involved in vaccine effectiveness evaluation studies in South Africa, Eswatini, Botswana and Mozambique.
The COVID-19 pandemic has raised the attention on the substantial health burden respiratory viruses can cause to humans worldwide, emphasizing more than ever the importance to continue producing reliable burden of disease estimates. For the next steps of my research I will develop projects that investigate respiratory viruses’ seasonality and viral evolution, as this is extremely relevant and will allow the identification of the populations most at-risk. I will perform post-registration evaluation for new vaccines and other preventive measures aiming to establish the optimal use of vaccines in France and globally. I will leverage on data, infrastructures, and expertise available from several existing partners at local, national, and global levels to achieve the following objectives:
1.Understand the burden and epidemiology of respiratory viruses that cause disease in very young and/or older age groups, which could lead to the development of improved or new vaccines.
Justification: traditionally the burden of respiratory infections displays a U shape curve relative to age groups, protecting these groups will be most effective to prevent illness and transmission. Additionally, robust science and evidence-based information are needed to support policy decisions and industrial investment in new vaccines.
2.Monitor the genetic evolution of respiratory viruses and associated mutations.
Justification: information on viruses’ genetic evolution dynamics will guide research and development for future vaccine targets and formulations. Moreover, viral genetic information can be used by sentinel systems to identify new viral threads (e.g., changes in phenotype representation of viruses that could lead to more severe diseases) or interpret why certain vaccines are not performing well.
3.Evaluate the real-life performance of vaccines against different outcomes.
Justification: real-world evidence can be used for post-registration evaluation.
I will integrate and analyse large longitudinal data routinely collected by the Hospices Civils de Lyon (HCL). For the projects focused on French national information, I will use French National Health Insurance (SNDS) data. I will also use the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) platform to obtain genetic sequences and related clinical and epidemiological data from different geographical areas.
This project is a multi-disciplinary applied research program that will use information from surveillance platforms, clinical records, viral phenotypic and genomic data to better understand the circulation of respiratory viruses, their clinical impact and inform future changes in epidemiology that might occur.
Domaines
Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]Origine | Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s) |
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