Leader in Field of Biodefense Discusses Vaccine Development Issues

 

Last year, she published a book titled “Long Shot: Vaccines for National Defense” (Harvard University Press).  She has also published articles in International Security, the Journal of Public Health Policy and the New York Times.  She serves on a National Research Council Committee on the Department of Defense’s Programs to Counter Biological Threats.

 

Kendall received her Ph.D. in the history and social study of science and technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2002 and was a Fellow in the International Security Program at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government from 2002-2004.  Prior to obtaining her degree, she worked in the International Security and International Affairs division of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Washington, D.C., office of McKinsey and Company, and the Center for the Management of Innovation and Technology at the National University of Singapore.

 

In her Westminster presentation, Kendall explained how she became interested in bioterrorism while riding in the back of a bus and thinking about the Sarin attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995 and how such attacks would become a larger problem over time. “You cannot count them like conventional weapons because they evade detection,” she explained. “It is hard to control the threat.”  She said the major question is, “Can we get the medicine we need when we need it?”

 

She emphasized that prediction is hard and that a new strategy is needed for vaccine development. She described the innovation in vaccine development that took place during World War II due to a commitment to public service and the existence of integrated research practices. She said innovation has since declined due to factors related to intellectual property, stricter regulations, requirements for clinical trials, market forces and a shift in the institutional environment.  “The lab-to-industry handoff fumbled and innovation rates went down,” she said.  “We need to change how we do research and what we do research on. … We need to re-engineer the process by which we develop vaccines. … Accelerated development times will improve national security and improve productivity. We have seen transformative innovation in the cell phone, Internet and semiconductor industries. The common element is to focus on integrated research productivity. This is what I have been working on.”

 

Following her presentation, she responded to numerous questions from the audience including the background she needed to get into her field, what a day in her life is like and about her time at Westminster as a student. “In Mrs. Urner-Berry’s labs, the Bunsen burner and the Periodic Table captivated my imagination,” she replied.  “The interest started here for sure.”