Going beyond publishing to expand the impact of research | MEDICUS 2024 Issue 2

Going beyond publishing to expand the impact of research
By Nicole Lim, Senior editor

More than 40 people, largely from Southeast Asia, attended a masterclass on vaccine science held at Duke-NUS in October 2023 // Credit: Courtesy of Tanu Chawla

Just 326 days. That’s the time it took the world to roll out the first safe and effective SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. But global bodies like the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, better known by its acronym CEPI, has set the world the ambitious goal of developing a vaccine within 100 days of the next pandemic being declared.

To boost vaccine know-how in Southeast Asia, Duke-NUS’ Emerging Infectious Diseases team, with its extensive expertise in viruses, the immune system and vaccine development, organised a three-day masterclass on vaccine science, bringing together public health professionals, regulators, policymakers and scientists from the region.

“Even before the pandemic, it was clear that the science around vaccines was building up so much that unless someone distilled it, it would be impossible to catch up,” said Professor Ooi Eng Eong from the Programme. And the pandemic only heightened this sense of urgency.

“We have to have ways of disseminating new knowledge to people so that they can absorb and apply it quickly,” he stressed.

“We have a responsibility to extend knowledge to other stakeholders, students, and the wider population about developments in research.”
Assoc Prof Silke Vogel

During the masterclass, held from 11 to 13 October 2023, experts at the forefront of their fields—from immunology to T cells and mRNA vaccine development to bioinformatics—“shed light on the immunological foundations of vaccine efficacy and its complexities”, said Research Fellow Tanu Chawla from Ooi’s lab.

“It was a comprehensive workshop, weaving together the intricate threads of immunology, understanding the corelates of protection, the art of vaccine design, ethical considerations, regulatory frameworks, and the powerful realm of machine learning,” she added.

In the wake of the pandemic, vaccine development may be a particularly poignant topic, but it is far from the only one. Against a backdrop of increasingly complex topics, such as climate change, emerging technologies including AI, and pandemic preparedness, continuing education is experiencing a “renaissance”, said Associate Professor Silke Vogel, Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Studies at Duke-NUS.

“The mindset that education stops after the first formal degree or after graduate school is outdated and superseded by the notion of lifelong learning,” said Vogel, who also leads the Centre for Lifelong Learning at Duke-NUS, a one-stop hub for the biomedical and healthcare communities in Singapore and the region to access the myriad lifelong learning opportunities across Duke-NUS and the wider SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre.

“The current, rapidly evolving professional environment demands upskilling and reskilling to stay competitive in the global workplace.”

But it is not solely professional skills that are undergoing transformation. Many of the most pressing global challenges arise from the convergence of various disciplines.

“The goal is also to enable and equip professionals with the knowledge to work across disciplines to tackle and provide solutions to multifaceted challenges,” Vogel added.

To equip professionals with new skills, the Centre for Lifelong Learning offers a variety of courses ranging from bite size classes, executive certificates to diplomas and master’s degrees. These cover topics from innovative education tools, patient safety, healthcare and health services innovations to global and population health.

Initiatives such as the recent masterclass on vaccine development provide a unique springboard for further study as well as practical implementation.

Organisers and attendees of the masterclass on vaccine development pose for a commemorative photo // Credit: Courtesy of Tanu Chawla

“[This masterclass] was a very insightful, thought-provoking programme that left me full of many ideas that I can’t wait to apply at my institution. Not only did it refresh our understanding by presenting years of peer-reviewed vaccine scientific studies, it also updated us through the discussion of research hot off the press,” said Mercy Egrina Adiniko, a participant in the vaccine masterclass from Indonesia.

For fellow participant Muhamad Norizwan Bin Jaffar Ali], the class also sparked practical ideas: “I learnt [about] new assays, such as sVNT and whole blood cytokine analysis assay. Indeed, I’m planning to include them in my current study.” The sVNT or surrogate virus neutralisation test was developed by Professor Wang Linfa’s team at Duke-NUS to detect past infections and monitor for vaccine effectiveness.

While the three-day programme provided a whistlestop update, it also brought together the perspectives of a range of experts with speakers from the School, industry and the regulatory and manufacturing sectors, who shared their insights, providing valuable networking opportunities to participants and organisers alike.

Participant Dr Navneet Bichha from India noted: “This course expanded and enriched my knowledge and skills particularly in dengue vaccine development. It also provided networking opportunities, formed valuable and sustainable professional relationships, and served as a platform to exchange experiences with experts.”

Emphasising the role of universities in educating beyond the confines of research labs, Vogel added: “We have a responsibility to extend knowledge to other stakeholders, students, and the wider population about developments in research. By providing insights into complexities, this knowledge can inform guidelines, and policies, and also help to build trust and public understanding.”