Canadian clinical research chair in vaccines recipient is announced

Vancouver, BC – Dr David Scheifele, from the BC Research Institute for Children’s and Women’s Health and the University of British Columbia, has been named clinical research chair in vaccines. The newly created chair is being supported with $1.1 million over five years by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR/Rx&D Research Program), Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and the University of British Columbia.

The chair will champion vaccinology as a field of medical research; facilitate multidisciplinary approaches to study critical issues; stimulate research and develop standards for clinical excellence, as well as advance the availability of vaccines as a standard of care for all Canadians.

Dr Scheifele will examine the epidemiology of target infections based on active surveillance across Canada. He will also evaluate the safety of new products within a network of skilled trial sites, assess the effectiveness and safety of new vaccine programs, and conduct studies of immunization applied to the skin, without needles.