Project: Bias in vaccine effectiveness studies
McVernon Group
Vaccines are one of the most practical means of controlling infectious diseases. It is therefore crucial that the methods used to evaluate vaccines be robust. Using influenza and COVID-19 as examples, this project will examine the strength and appropriateness of commonly-used vaccine effectiveness (VE) study designs to identify areas for potential improvement in evaluation of VE. This project will invole statistial simulations to model various study design and sampling scenarios and will therefore provide an opportunity for the student to develop skills in statistical analyses, including simulation modelling, as well as enhance their understanding of epidemiological bias and robust study design.
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McVernon Group
5 vacancies
Professor Jodie McVernon is a physician with subspecialty qualifications in public health and vaccinology. She has extensive expertise in clinical vaccine trials, epidemiologic studies and mathematical modelling of infectious diseases, gained at the University of Oxford, Health Protection Agency London and the University of Melbourne. Her work focuses on the application of a range of cross-disciplinary methodological approaches, including mathematical and computational models, to synthesise insights from basic biology, epidemiological data and sociological research. These models advance understanding of the observed epidemiology of infectious diseases and inform understanding of optimal interventions for disease control.
McVernon Group Current Projects
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Investigating combined impacts of interventions against scabies and group A Streptococcus using transmission models
PhD/MPhil
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Understanding the impact of new testing for infectious diseases
PhD/MPhil, Master of Biomedical Science
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Optimal design of competitive mixture experiments
PhD/MPhil, Master of Biomedical Science
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Invasive Streptococcus A – piecing together clinical, genomic and public health aspects of the puzzle
PhD/MPhil
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Bias in vaccine effectiveness studies
Master of Biomedical Science
Research degrees at the Doherty Institute are administered by the University of Melbourne.