Characterizing Hepatitis B Transmission in Congolese Children

摘要 博士佩顿汤普森是北方大学儿科传染病助理教授 卡罗莱纳（Carolina）正在申请K 08指导临床科学家职业发展奖。博士 汤普森的长期职业目标是成为一名独立的物理学家，科学家， 疫苗学和低资源环境中疫苗可预防疾病的流行病学。 在撒哈拉以南非洲地区，B型肝炎病毒（HBV）的流行率高得令人无法接受， 有效的乙肝疫苗。为了设计更好的疫苗接种策略， 为了使每个人都能抵抗HBV，我们必须首先解决两个重要的HBV相关知识缺口：1）地理空间 非洲儿童HBV感染的驱动因素; 2）非洲儿童HBV家庭传播模式。 这项提案将利用流行病学数据和干血斑样本来填补这些知识空白 来自于刚果民主共和国（DRC）的一项大型全国性调查。 本申请将针对以下具体目标：目标1）定位HBV高流行率的热点， 使用来自全国的现有DBS样本， 代表性调查;目的2）使用系统发育分析确定家庭层面的HBV传播模式 目标3）使用建模方法估计刚果民主共和国靶向疫苗接种策略的影响 技术.这些目标与汤普森博士的职业发展目标一致：1）流行病学培训 大型数据库的空间分析; 2）疫苗学培训; 3）影响建模培训。 为了实现这些目标，汤普森博士组建了一支高素质的导师团队，包括： 主要导师，西尔维娅·贝克尔-德雷普斯博士，一位全球卫生研究员，在疫苗可预防方面具有专业知识， 疾病;她的共同导师，史蒂芬Meshnick博士，一个熟练的流行病学家，在刚果民主共和国的丰富经验; 内部咨询委员会由大型数据分析专家（Jonathan Parr博士）、肝病学专家（Dr. Michael Fried博士）、空间分析（Michael Emch博士）和疫苗学（大卫韦伯博士）。这种多学科 一个由NIH资助的研究小组在培训初级研究人员方面有着令人印象深刻的记录， 独立的研究生涯。在他们的监督下，汤普森博士将实现研究和职业生涯 发展目标，并准备申请R 01，以实施和评估 针对刚果民主共和国的空间靶向疫苗接种策略。

ABSTRACT Dr. Peyton Thompson is an Assistant Professor of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of North Carolina (UNC) who is applying for a K08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Career Development Award. Dr. Thompson’s long-term career goal is to become an independent physician-scientist with expertise in vaccinology and the epidemiology of vaccine-preventable diseases in low-resource settings. The prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) is unacceptably high in sub-Saharan Africa given that there is an effective vaccine against HBV. In order to design improved vaccination strategies to protect vulnerable individuals against HBV, we must first address two important HBV-related knowledge gaps: 1) Geospatial drivers of HBV infection in African children, and 2) HBV household transmission patterns in African children. This proposal will address these knowledge gaps using epidemiological data and dried-blood spot samples from a large national survey in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This application will address the following specific aims: Aim 1) Locate hotspots of high HBV prevalence and low population-level immunity among Congolese children using existing DBS samples from a nationally representative survey; Aim 2) Identify patterns of HBV transmission at the household level using phylogenetic approaches; and Aim 3) Estimate the impact of targeted vaccination strategies in the DRC using modeling techniques. These aims align with Dr. Thompson’s career development goals: 1) Training in epidemiological and spatial analyses of large data repositories; 2) Training in vaccinology; and 3) Training in impact modeling. To achieve these goals, Dr. Thompson has assembled a highly qualified mentorship team comprised of: her primary mentor, Dr. Sylvia Becker-Dreps, a global health researcher with expertise in vaccine-preventable diseases; her co-mentor, Dr. Steven Meshnick, a skilled epidemiologist with vast experience in the DRC; an internal advisory committee consisting of experts in analysis of large data (Dr. Jonathan Parr), hepatology (Dr. Michael Fried), spatial analyses (Dr. Michael Emch) and vaccinology (Dr. David Weber). This multidisciplinary team of NIH-funded researchers has an impressive track record of training junior investigators toward independent research careers. Under their supervision, Dr. Thompson will achieve the research and career development aims in this proposal, and will be prepared to apply for an R01 to implement and evaluate spatially targeted vaccination strategies specific to the DRC.