At the University of Cambridge’s Teichmann Lab, Dr. Senjuti Saha showcased CHRF’s endeavour in building a pediatric infectious disease observatory in Bangladesh. Over 25 years, CHRF has biobanked ~100,000 samples and sequenced ~8,000, generating insights into different pathogens, therapeutics and infection prevention strategies.

With Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) as a case in point, Dr. Saha addressed the challenges in formulating infection prevention strategies in LMICs. She pointed out that despite RSV infections having low case fatality rates, introduction of RSV vaccines can reduce burden on healthcare facilities, thereby improving the access to healthcare and reducing overall morbidity and mortality in LMICs. She highlighted how CHRF has started utilizing single-cell sequencing to investigate host immune responses to RSV infections, increasing our understanding of RSV pathobiology while contributing valuable data to the Human Cell Atlas.

Dr. Saha shared her vision of a research model which starts with community engagement and seeks to answer complicated questions like whether prematurity can reduce vaccine responses in babies. She emphasized that despite many challenges in low-resource settings, there remain immense opportunities to drive policy change and improve our understanding of human biology!