Biography

Dr. Maggie Haitian Wang is an Associate Professor in the JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). She received her bachelor’s degree (Hon) in Physics in 2005 and PhD degree in Statistics in 2011 from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). Her research interest is developing statistical and bioinformatic methods towards better vaccine design and human genome interpretation. She serves as a board member of the International Genetic Epidemiology Society (IGES) and a review editor of Human Genetics.

Predicting Vaccine Effectiveness Against New Genetic Variants and Reverse Vaccinology

The effectiveness of vaccines varies with the matching of vaccine strains to circulating strains. Based on the genetic distance of surface proteins of the viruses to vaccine strains, we develop computational biology approach to quantify the relationship between genetic mismatch and vaccine effectiveness (VE) for influenza A/H1N1pdm09, A/H3N2, influenza B and COVID-19. Evident relationships were identified and validated in independent data. The modelling framework may enable in silico prediction for VE on a real-time basis and inform vaccine design and public health planning.