Dr. John Clemens, the IVI’s Director-General, speaks to participants
during the Eighth International Advanced Course on Vaccinology 
for the Asia-Pacific Regions held at IVI headquarters in Seoul, Korea in May 2008.

The IVI conducted the ´Eighth International Advanced Course on Vaccinology for the Asia-Pacific Regions’ from May 5 to10. The annual training course for professionals is designed to help countries boost their capacity in the area of vaccine evaluation, policy formulation and introduction.

The week-long event drew over 70 participants from more than 20 countries. The participants included scientists, public health officials and policymakers involved in vaccine development and vaccination policies, both from the private and public sectors.

The course aims to help countries in the developing world better cope with the threat of infectious diseases, including emerging diseases such as avian influenza, by expanding their understanding of key issues related to vaccine development, production, evaluation and introduction. Fifteen fellowships are granted each year to participants from developing countries to attend the course.

More than 20 experts from the IVI, universities, research institutions, industry, non-profit organizations, and international agencies (including the World Health Organization and the GAVI Alliance) served as faculty for the course.  Prof. Ian Gust, a leading virologist and vaccine expert from the University of Melbourne, gave a keynote closing speech on May 10 entitled, “The future of vaccines and vaccination with special emphasis on avian flu and other pandemics.” Prof. Gust presented an overview of the history of vaccines and recent trends in vaccinology. He stressed the need to  address the gap between developed and developing countries in immunization coverage, including the availability and use of new-generation vaccines.

The course covered the entire vaccine continuum, from discovery in the laboratory to vaccine evaluation, licensure and regulatory issues, production, introduction strategies and financing mechanisms. Participants received lectures in a range of disciplines, including the basics of epidemiology and immunology, the latest in vaccine technology and delivery systems, vaccine economics and financing, and ethical issues related to field testing and delivery of vaccines.

Participants and faculty members of the Eighth International Advanced Course
on Vaccinology for the Asia Pacific Regions at IVI headquarters

The course also covered a range of infectious diseases and vaccines, including those against enteric diseases (rotavirus, cholera, and typhoid fever), respiratory diseases such as influenza and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), mosquito-borne viruses, such as Japanese encephalitis and dengue fever, malaria and human papilloma virus (HPV).

The course comprised lectures, case studies, and roundtable discussions designed to encourage interaction between participants and faculty. Topics for discussion included “technology transfer,” “the changing regulatory environment,” and “rotavirus vaccine introduction.”

The event is jointly hosted by the IVI and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of Korea, GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Korea Exchange Bank Foundation.