Dr. Sue Huang is a virologist, the principal investigator (PI) for the WellKiwis (i.e. SHIVERS-III) study. She is also the PI for SHIVERS-I and SHIVERS-II and the director of the WHO National Influenza Centre at ESR.
She received her PhD in virology from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, USA. Her area of expertise is infectious and pathogenic human viruses, particularly influenza, other respiratory viruses, polio and other enteroviruses, including studying aetiological agents, diagnostic methods, routes and modes of transmission, viral pathogenesis and host immune responses, disease burden and related risk factors, vaccine effectiveness, viral ecology and evolution.
This is the second year I have had the privilege of leading the clinical team. I have been nursing for over twenty years in a variety of settings, including maternity (postnatal ward/neonatal intensive care unit), aged care, district, public health. I have a Certificate in Public Health and Post Graduate Certificate in nursing, both from Massey University where I also completed my nursing training.
I am passionate about improving our participants experiences to make the study as easy as possible to be involved with, I also want to ensure the study is well known and people want to be part of it. I am proud of the awesome clinical team we have brought together for the study, with such a variety of knowledge and experience among the team.
I live with my fiancé in a blended family made up of his two and my two children (my eldest is now studying down in Christchurch) and our two Chinese Shar-Pei pups in Porirua. I enjoy music and sing and play the flute, enjoy walking the dogs and getting out exploring.
Lauren Jelley is a Senior Scientist in charge of the Clinical Virology Department based at ESR’s Wallaceville Science Centre in Wellington.
Lauren is a scientist whose research interests focus on viruses that cause human disease such as respiratory viruses, arboviruses and enteroviruses including polio. She is part of an international research group that have multiple research projects currently running, called WellKiwi (i.e SHIVERS III) and SHIVERS II. This research is focused on the influenza virus and is looking at the effects of vaccination, as well as household transmission.
Lauren gained her undergraduate degree at Victoria University in Wellington, and her Masters in Applied Science at RMIT in Melbourne Australia. She has previously worked at VIDRL and at the WHO Collaborating Centre of Influenza Reference and Research in Melbourne.