The evolution of influenza and COVID - a lecture by Professor Derek Smith
An exclusive event for RSB members exploring the evolution of influenza and COVID: viruses, variants, and vaccines.
Details
When? Monday 24 November 2025, 12:30 to 13:30
Members Only This is a members-only event
Where? Online (Zoom)
CPD Approved This event is approved for CPD
The evolution of influenza and COVID: viruses, variants, and vaccines
Talk outline
The evolution of the influenza and COVID viruses is sufficiently rapid that they can change enough from one year to the next to escape previous immunity and reinfect us again. This evolution is fascinating from a scientific perspective, but is also the major reason for their continued substantial public health burden. In a typical year there are about one billion cases of influenza, 5 million of which are severe and cause about 600 thousand deaths.
The primary way to combat influenza is through vaccination. Each year 800 million people receive the vaccine. The evolution of the virus presents two major hurdles to vaccine effectiveness. First, the choice of which variants to put in the vaccine has to be made 6 months in advance of the start of the yearly vaccination campaign because of the time needed to manufacture the vaccine, and during this time the virus can change sufficiently that the variant in the vaccine is no longer the variant that is infecting us. Second, the vaccine has to work in the presence of pre-existing immunity to previous variants, and it is a challenge to get our immune systems to develop new immunity against the variants in the vaccine. Despite these hurdles the vaccines usually work well, but with substantial room for improvement.
In this talk we will cover how the evolution of influenza and COVID viruses is tracked, the basic science of their evolution, how this evolution can be predicted, and how vaccines that are evolutionarily advanced improve the effectiveness of the vaccine.
About our speaker
Derek Smith is Director of the Centre for Pathogen Evolution and Professor of Infectious Disease Informatics at the University of Cambridge. His research is focused on the evolution and immune response to pathogens that evolve over time. For the last 20 years he has sat on the World Health Organization (WHO) committee that recommends which variants are used in the influenza vaccine. He also sits on the WHO committee that makes the vaccine variant recommendation for COVID-one of only two people in the world who sit on both the influenza and COVID vaccine strain selection committees.
Chair
This webinar will be chaired by Professor Louise Cosby FRSB, RSB Trustee and Chair of the College of Individual Members.
Who should attend?
This talk would be of interest to scientists, students, and those interested in virology, public heath and emerging disease.
Cost and booking
This event is free to attend and exclusively for RSB members (including paid membership applications awaiting election). Spaces are limited so advance registration is essential through the link at the top of the page.
Special requirements
If you have accessibility requirements, please let us know during your booking using the additional information options, and we will do what we can to accommodate your needs.
Continuing Professional Development
This event is approved by the Royal Society of Biology for the purposes of CPD and can be counted as 3 CPD points.
Contact
For event, booking and website queries, please contact Lucy Eckersley at events@rsb.org.uk or on 020 3925 3445.Code of Conduct
By its Royal Charter, the Royal Society of Biology (RSB) has the powers to promote, establish and support standards of professional skill and conduct. The RSB is committed to ensuring equal opportunities in the life sciences, and supports diversity throughout the pipeline. We proactively promote a culture of inclusivity within our discipline and the broader STEM community. It is vital at any RSB event or meeting, that everyone attending is free from any form of harassment or discrimination, feels comfortable and safe, and has the opportunity for an enjoyable experience.