Research Projects
Optimal vaccination strategies for influenza

Influenza vaccines have been in use for over 70 years and are now widely administered in many developed countries. However, influenza viruses continuously evolve to evade host immunity, necessitating regular updates to vaccine strains in response to antigenic drift. The effectiveness of an influenza vaccination program depends not only on how well the vaccine strain matches circulating viruses but also on the strength of the immune response it elicits at the time of an outbreak. Since a perfect match is rarely achieved, vaccine-induced immunity is often cross-protective. Inactivated vaccines primarily provide protection by boosting antibody responses, with hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) titers serving as the established correlate of protection. In our research we are exploring alternative correlates of protection, and estimating the breadth of cross-protection provided by different vaccines and vaccination programs. This will allow us to optimize influenza vaccine recommendations in Hong Kong and elsewhere

Professor BJ Cowling, School of Public Health

Ben Cowling is currently Chair Professor of Epidemiology and head of the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the School of Public Health at the University of Hong Kong, and co-Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control. He conducts research into the epidemiology of respiratory virus infections, with a focus on transmission dynamics and the effectiveness of control measures including vaccination. Since early 2020 he has conducted research on the epidemiology and control of COVID-19 including highly cited publications in NEJM, Science and Nature Medicine. He holds major research grants to study how individual measures of immunity translate to population immunity, and to estimate the impact of public health measures for influenza and COVID-19. He has authored more than 750 peer-reviewed journal publications to date.

Biography
HKU Scholars Hub
Lab
ORCID
bcowling@hku.hk

For more information or to express interest for this project, please email the supervisor or the specified contact point in the project description.  Interested candidates are advised to enclose with your email:

1. your CV,
2. a brief description of your research interest and experience, and
3. two reference letters (not required for HKUMed UG students seeking MRes[Med]/URIS projects).

Information on the research programme, funding support and admission documentations could be referenced online at the Research Postgraduate Admissions website. General admission enquiries should be directed to rpgmed@hku.hk.

HKUMed MBBS students interested in the Master of Research in Medicine (MRes[Med]) programme may visit the programme website for more information.  

HKUMed UG students interested in the Undergraduate Research Internship Scheme (URIS) may visit the scheme’s website for more information.