We perform research into the best vaccination strategies in patients who have undergone stem cell ablation prior to transplant, as well as looking at antibody production after Flu and COVID vaccinations.
The InFLUencer trial
Dr Hall’s study A randomised trial of two standard dose vs two adjuvanted influenza vaccines in patients with haematological malignancy has demonstrated two doses of adjuvanted flu vaccine bring more side effects for no benefit compared to two standard doses of fluvax in patients with haem malignancy for which she won the ESGICH Trainee & Young Investigator Abstract Award at ESCMIDGlobal 2024. Supported by a Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre Foundation Grant.
The PROSECCO Network
Dr Hall and the NCIC team conducted a major study assessment of 620 cancer patients across 15 Australian hospitals who caught COVID-19 from March 2020 to April 2022. Our study showed that COVID impact eased through the pandemic as the arrival of vaccines, a less severe variant and early intervention treatments saved lives. Published in the Lancet Regional Health Western Pacific this work has since received funding to continue collection in the post COVID era.
NCIC & Doherty PhD Candidate Dr Victoria (Tori) Hall
“Defining host immune response and prevention strategies for viral respiratory tract infections in patients with hematological malignancy”
Supervisors: A/Prof Benjamin Teh, Professor Monica Slavin, Dr Michelle Yong, Professor Katherine Kedzierska
Rosie Lew Peter Mac Foundation Postgraduate Award recipient.
Serological responses post vaccination
In collaboration with Professor Katherine Kedzierska at the Doherty Institute we are investigating patient serological responses following vaccination. Our study: Robust SARS-CoV-2 T cell responses with common TCRαβ motifs toward COVID-19 vaccines in patients with hematological malignancy impacting B cells has demonstrated that COVID-19 vaccination induces robust T cell immunity in hematology patients. Other studies have investigated vaccine effectiveness in other cancer settings