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Vaccine Q&A with Christina Polyak '94
Polyak ’94 is an infectious diseases physician whose research focuses on HIV prevention and treatment, including clinical trials of vaccines. For NCS Magazine, Polyak answered questions about what sparked her interest in this work, how the COVID-19 vaccines were developed so quickly, and what lessons can translate to her research on an HIV vaccine.
What sparked your interest in studying infectious diseases?
Infectious diseases (ID) are not limited to an organ system, which means you have the chance to be a bit of a detective as you make a diagnosis. In this work, I get to collaborate with other specialties in a team approach to treating patients. Additionally, ID is a gateway to public health in a global setting, with research advancements having widespread impact.
Why did you decide to study HIV in particular?
I started studying malaria and tropical infections as an epidemiologist with the hope of reducing the worldwide burden of tropical infectious diseases. HIV was prevalent, and the intersection of HIV and tropical infections was a newer area in infectious diseases research.
Understanding the interplay of these infections has been key to developing therapeutics that are effective. In the past two decades, my research has focused more on HIV prevention and treatment. Specifically, I am part of a team that develops and implements HIV clinical research studies of vaccines and novel therapeutics.
What sparked your interest in studying infectious diseases?
Infectious diseases (ID) are not limited to an organ system, which means you have the chance to be a bit of a detective as you make a diagnosis. In this work, I get to collaborate with other specialties in a team approach to treating patients. Additionally, ID is a gateway to public health in a global setting, with research advancements having widespread impact.
Why did you decide to study HIV in particular?
I started studying malaria and tropical infections as an epidemiologist with the hope of reducing the worldwide burden of tropical infectious diseases. HIV was prevalent, and the intersection of HIV and tropical infections was a newer area in infectious diseases research.
Understanding the interplay of these infections has been key to developing therapeutics that are effective. In the past two decades, my research has focused more on HIV prevention and treatment. Specifically, I am part of a team that develops and implements HIV clinical research studies of vaccines and novel therapeutics.
What is the typical timing for the development, testing, and production of a vaccine?
Development of vaccines is a complex and specialized process. Most vaccines take 10-plus years to develop, test, and then produce. Prior to the COVID-19 vaccine, the mumps vaccine was thought to be the quickest to be developed and licensing—and that took four years.
What is the vaccine trial process like?
We think of the development of a vaccine in cycles, which include exploratory work, a preclinical stage, clinical development, regulatory reviews and approvals, and manufacturing. Once the vaccine is manufactured, there is continuous quality control of the facilities producing it.
My work focuses on the clinical development portion of the process, which is split into three phases of testing candidate vaccines: Phase 1 studies are small and test for safety of the vaccine. Phase 2 studies enroll people who have characteristics similar to those for whom the vaccine is intended. Finally, Phase 3 studies test for efficacy and assess safety.
What factors made the development and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines so effective and quick?
The COVID-19 vaccine has changed our model of what is possible in vaccine development. These vaccines were developed quickly, building on years of research on related viruses as well as an unparalleled investment in the process by governments, businesses, and private philanthropists. This massive investment allowed the preclinical and clinical work to occur in parallel, which is usually too great a financial risk for pharmaceutical companies in the event that a product is not successful.
Streamlined regulatory processes and focused manufacturing were also key to quick timelines.
What lessons could we learn from the COVID-19 vaccine success that would translate to HIV
vaccine research?
The COVID-19 pandemic helped further develop global collaboration and commitment to vaccine development.
We hope to build upon this as we continue to develop vaccines against HIV.
This Q&A originally ran in the Summer 2021 issue of NCS Magazine.
