University of Washington Assistant Professor of Health Decision Science, Dr. Kyu Lee, PhD, has been awarded a 5-year K01 career development award from the National Institute of Health (NIH), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for research on the role of vaccine antigenic match in improving the effectiveness of seasonal influenza vaccines and the value of expanding genomic surveillance to inform vaccine strain selection.
The NIAID K01 provides a structured framework for Lee to accelerate the development of an independent, interdisciplinary research program. Through targeted mentorship and collaboration with experts in health economics, infectious diseases, viral evolution, and biostatistics, the award supports the expansion of her research portfolio in influenza and other evolving pathogens.
Lee, a faculty member in the UW Department of Pharmacy and The CHOICE Institute, sees the award as a pivotal step in establishing an independent research program at the intersection of decision science, vaccinology, and pathogen evolution.
“The K01 award represents an important milestone in my transition to independence as a researcher,” she said. “It provides a unique opportunity to build on my expertise in decision science and simulation-based policy evaluation while expanding into new areas such as vaccinology and pathogen evolution. This interdisciplinary training will allow me to integrate methods across fields to advance influenza policy research.”
Her work addresses a gap that has long complicated influenza vaccine research: isolating the contribution of antigenic match — how well a vaccine strain resembles the viruses actually circulating in a given season — from the many other factors that shape vaccine effectiveness. Using quantitative approaches including geospatial analysis and value-of-information analysis, Lee aims to generate evidence that supports more efficient resource allocation and decision-making for seasonal influenza vaccination programs.
Lee’s path to influenza research was shaped in part by the COVID-19 pandemic, which drew her attention to the unique challenges posed by continuously evolving respiratory viruses.
“Influenza has a long history of vaccine development, yet continuous viral evolution poses persistent challenges to vaccine effectiveness,” she noted. “The potential for pandemics driven by major antigenic shifts underscores the importance of rapidly translating surveillance data into policy decisions. This intersection of uncertainty, data, and decision-making makes influenza policy an especially compelling area for applying decision science methods.”
The award will support close collaboration with an outstanding team of mentors, including Dr. Anirban Basu, Stergachis Family Endowed Director and Professor of Health Economics at The CHOICE Institute; Dr. Janet Englund, Professor of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Seattle Children’s Hospital; Dr. Trevor Bedford, Professor in the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division at Fred Hutch and a leading expert in viral evolution and genomic surveillance; and Dr. Adam Szpiro, Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Washington. Together, their expertise will be instrumental in shaping Lee’s long-term research trajectory.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Lee on this well-deserved recognition. We look forward to seeing the impact her work will have on influenza vaccine policy and public health for years to come.