Alane Izu

The Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics (VIDA) Research Unit of the University of the Witwatersrand, formerly the Respiratory and Meningeal Pathogens Research Unit (RMPRU), has over the past 24 years established itself as an internationally recognised African-led research unit in the field of epidemiology of vaccine preventable diseases, and clinical development of life-saving vaccines. Current focus areas include next generation vaccines against rotavirus and TB, as well as development of novel vaccines targeted at pregnant women to protect their young infants against the leading causes of sepsis (Group B Streptococcus vaccine) and pneumonia (Respiratory Syncytial Virus vaccine) during early infancy. Furthermore, VIDA is one of seven participating units in the multi-country Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) programme, which aims at providing refined estimates as to the causes of stillbirths and under-5 childhood deaths in low-middle income countries (LMICs). In 2020, VIDA embarked on leading the first two COVID-19 vaccine studies being undertaken on the African continent, and has undertaken multiple epidemiological and immunology studies on COVID-19 in health-care workers, adults and pregnant women. The translational research undertaken at VIDA continues to inform local and global policy recommendations on the use of life-saving vaccines in the public immunisation programmes of low-middle income countries.