Dr. Margaret Liu speaks Feb. 3 at the First Friday Forum about COVID-19, RSV, MPox, Influenza and Polio. She will also give the latest information about the COVID-19 epidemic.
Dr. Margaret Liu will talk at the Feb. 3 First Friday Forum about COVID-19, RSV, MPox, Influenza and Polio, with the latest information about the COVID-19 epidemic. Liu is a board member and President Emerita of the International Society for Vaccines and an Adjunct Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at UCSF.
Her lecture is 10 a.m. at the Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church (LOPC), located at 49 Knox Drive, Lafayette, and will also be on live stream. Visit http://www.lopc.org and click on First Friday Forum.
Liu explained, “The talk will present where we are at the beginning of 2023 for the epidemiology of these diseases and describe the vaccine and public health strategies. The current variants of concern (the dominant circulating strains) of SARS-CoV-2 and efficacy of the booster vaccines will be described.”
She will also talk about the characteristics of different vaccines in use and their benefits and limitations, along with recommendations for other relevant mitigation approaches to minimize chances for infection and illness.
“The recent successful development of RSV vaccines and their strategies (immunizing pregnant women and older people) will be discussed,” said Liu. “These five diseases will be covered in the context of how vaccine development and usage of vaccines and other protective measures affect individuals, land and public health going forward.”
Liu is renowned in vaccines, gene delivery and cancer immunotherapy. She earned an MD from Harvard Medical School and was on the faculty there and a Visiting Scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She pioneered DNA vaccines as well as bispecific antibodies for cancer.
Named one of “The 50 Most Important Women Scientists” by Discover Magazine, Liu is known as “The mother of DNA vaccines,” a technology that laid the foundation for mRNA vaccines.
She was formerly Senior Advisor in Vaccinology at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Chairman of the Board of the International Vaccine Institute and member of the groups that drafted the World Health Organization guidelines for both DNV and mRNA vaccines and a member of Dr. Tony Fauci’s US NIH NIAID Advisory Council.
“This is a rare opportunity to learn firsthand about the latest developments in vaccine research,” said Darlene James, member of the First Friday Forum team. “Be sure to come to LOPC or log onto the livestream.”
Bobbie Dodson can be reached at bobbiedodson109@gmail.com.
