Join us for this latest instalment of the 2021 Almroth Wright lecture series with Professor Gagandeep Kang FRS.
Please register in advance if you would like to attend. This event will be hosted via Microsoft Teams; once you have registered, you will receive a calendar invitation and link via email.
For more information about the Almroth Wright lecture series, please visit our website.
Abstract
Rotavirus infects nearly all young children, causing dehydrating gastroenteritis in approximately 1 in 50 children. Untreated dehydration kills, so several hundred thousand children die every year. A rotavirus vaccine based on a neonatal strain was developed in the US and India over nearly 30 years and licensed in 2014 as Rotavac, made by Bharat Biotech. A second vaccine licensed from the US, was developed in India and Africa and licensed in 2017 as RotaSIIL, made by Serum Institute Pvt. Ltd. We evaluated both vaccines in the clinic and the laboratory and conducted several other studies to characterize the performance of rotavirus vaccines. Both India vaccines are now WHO pre-qualified and in use in the national immunization programme. Because of the small size of the pre-licensure clinical studies, there were concerns about how the vaccines would perform with real-world use. We have generated new data for one vaccine and are embarking on a study of the second vaccine. Much done, but still, a lot to do.
About the speaker
Professor Kang is Professor of Microbiology, at the Wellcome Trust Research Laboratory, Division of Gastrointestinal Sciences at the Christian Medical College (CMC) in Vellore. She has worked on the development and use of vaccines for rotaviruses, cholera and typhoid, conducting large studies to define burden, test vaccines and measure their impact. She also studies the consequences of enteric infections and has shown that infections in early life impact future growth and cognitive development. She has established a strong training program for students and young faculty in clinical translational medicine aiming to build a cadre of clinical researchers studying relevant problems in India.
She is a member of several advisory committees for the WHO, mainly related to research and the use of vaccines. She serves or has served on the scientific advisory or strategic committee of several national and international institutions, including the Wellcome Trust, UK, the DBT-Wellcome Trust India Alliance, the International Vaccine Institute and the International Centers for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. She is Vice-Chair of the Board of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and a Wellcome Trust nominated Board Member of Hilleman Laboratories, a partnership to support the development of affordable vaccines for low- and middle-income countries.