Determinants of SARS-CoV-2 infectiousness and transmission (ID Epi Seminar Series)

This hybrid in-person/virtual webinar will be presented by Ajit Lalvani, Chair of Infectious Diseases, Founding Director of the Tuberculosis Research Centre and Director of the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Respiratory Infections, Imperial College London and Honorary Consultant Physician at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. The in-person portion will be held in Kresge G2. Register here.

Ajit leads the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Respiratory Infections to protect the nation’s health of from the most serious respiratory infections: flu, TB and COVID-19. His patient-based research aims to understand the body’s natural mechanisms of protection against these lethal pathogens and the determinants of transmission. He translates his discoveries into innovative practical solutions to improve patient care and public health. These include: the blueprint for a universal pandemic influenza vaccine, the mechanism of action of BCG vaccine, the first rapid blood test for TB (IGRA), delineating the infectious window of SARS-CoV-2 and its mode of spread in households, and the blueprint for variant-proof COVID vaccines. By devising the first IGRA-based national screening programme for latent TB in new migrants, he has helped to halve England’s TB burden in recent years. He has raised >£40 million research funding and published >200 research papers, cited >12,000 times. Ajit supports the public’s engagement with science through his role as a Governor of The Science Museum Group, London. He has actively developed India’s medical research ecosystem through chairing the Strategic Advisory Board of The India Alliance, India’s pre-eminent medical research funding organization.

Recommended Readings

• Hakki et al. (2022). Onset and window of SARS-CoV-2 infectiousness and temporal correlation with symptom onset: a prospective, longitudinal, community cohort study.
• Singanayagam et al. (2021). Community transmission and viral load kinetics of the SARS-CoV-2 delta (B.1.617.2) variant in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals in the UK: a prospective, longitudinal, cohort study.
• Kundu et al. (2022). Cross-reactive memory T cells associate with protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection in COVID-19 contacts.