His Royal Highness Sultan Nazrin Shah, Chancellor of Universiti Malaya, officiated the Special Lecture Series titled "Lessons Learned from COVID-19," featuring the esteemed Professor Teresa Lambe, OBE.
Professor Teresa Lambe, OBE. Known worldwide for her role as the co-developer of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and as the Calleva Head of Vaccine Immunology at the University of Oxford, Prof. Lambe has played a crucial part in the pandemic response.
During the special lecture, Professor Teresa Lambe emphasized that in the face of potential health threats or pandemics akin to Covid-19, it is important for academic institutions, regulatory bodies and industry leaders to provide space for open dialogue and communication.
“Our team of experts were able to develop the vaccine in just over one year because of the great partnership we received both nationally and internationally.
"We had very open conversations with the government, regulatory bodies and WHO (World Health Organisation), and in that way we were able to push in the right direction,” she added.
Lambe said in 2020 alone, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine saved more lives than any other vaccine in the world, at over six million.
Professor Dr. April Camilla Roslani, Dean of Faculty of Medicine during the opening speech said that it gives University’s a great pleasure to welcome Professor Teresa today. Professor Lambe is the Calleva Head of Vaccine Immunology and a Professor of Vaccinology & Immunology at the University of Oxford. Her raison d’etre is to stop epidemics before they become pandemics, through her research team’s work on vaccines.
“That determination was never more important than when the world was challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic. The race to find a vaccine was no longer a matter of research hubris, nor industrial commercial success, but more a drive to save humankind. I am sure that we have much to learn from Prof. Lambe’s breadth and depth of experience, as we seek to prevent, or at least mitigate, the next outbreak,” Professor Dr. Camilla April added.
This unparalleled lecture organized by Faculty of Medicine offers an opportunity to glean insights from her exceptional contributions to vaccine research and development during the global COVID-19 crisis. With her extensive involvement in vaccine research, she will provide unique perspectives on the rapid evolution of the field, lessons derived from real-world challenges, and strategies that have defined successful pandemic response efforts.