LEADERSHIP

 

Network Leads

Dr. Karina Top

Principal Investigator

 

Dr. Top is the Network co-Lead and Principal Investigator of the International Network of Special Immunization Services (INSIS). She is also the co-Lead and Principal Investigator for the Canadian Immunization Research Network’s (CIRN) Special Immunization Clinic Network (SIC Network).

Dr. Top’s research focuses on understanding causes and risk factors for adverse events following immunization, clinical management of patients with adverse events following immunization, and vaccine safety and effectiveness in immune-compromised patients and pregnant people.

She was recently recruited to the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada where she is now a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and a pediatric infectious disease consultant at the Stollery Children’s Hospital. She also maintains an adjunct faculty appointment with the Departments of Pediatrics and Community Health & Epidemiology at Dalhousie University and is an investigator at the Canadian Center for Vaccinology (CCfV) in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Dr. Robert “Bob” Chen is the Network co-Lead and Principal Investigator of the International Network of Special Immunization Services (INSIS). He also serves as The Task Force’s Brighton Collaboration Scientific Director and has been a leader in research on the epidemiology of vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases (VPD) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for more than 30 years.

Chen helped create the vaccine safety infrastructure needed to meet the “post-modern” challenges of mature immunization programs where adverse events are more prominent than the nearly eliminated target VPDs, including the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) Project, the Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment (CISA) Network, and the Brighton Collaboration.

Dr. Robert Chen

Principal Investigator

Working Groups

  • AEFI X Working Group

    INSIS develops harmonized data, sample collection, and processing protocols for vaccine-associated AEFIs across diverse settings through the AEFI X Working Group. The group designs standardized "mock scenarios" and strategic approaches for local ethics submissions while collaborating across INSIS to streamline multi-site safety research. The group is co-chaired by Dr. Nigel Crawford from Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) and Dr. Buddy Creech from Vanderbilt University.

  • OMICs Working Group

    INSIS works to characterize the clinical risk factors and molecular signatures/biomarkers associated with VITT/TTS, myocarditis, and pericarditis following COVID-19 vaccination. The OMICs working group prioritizes specimen use, oversees global sample tracking, and collaborates on processing. It also advises the INSIS Steering Committee and AEFI X Working Group on OMICs sampling and analysis. The group is co-chaired by Drs. Joann Arce and Ofer Levy from the Precision Vaccines Program.

  • Clinical Data Working Group

    INSIS manages the centralized data center, data harmonization, and reporting through its Clinical Data Working Group. The group oversees the development of data management SOPs and network-wide common data elements. They also provide direct input into AEFI-specific case report forms while maintaining strict oversight of data quality, access, and analysis for the INSIS Database. The group is chaired by Dr. Asimenia Angelidou from the Precision Vaccines Program at Boston Children’s Hospital.

  • Publications Commitee

    INSIS coordinates its scientific dissemination and manuscript review process through the Publications Committee. The group identifies and monitors primary publications and target deadlines, reviews manuscript proposals utilizing INSIS data, and addresses authorship matters or journal selections. It also prioritizes publication ideas, abstracts, and presentations for final approval by the Steering Committee. The group is chaired by Dr. Bruce Carleton from the University of British Columbia.

Steering Committee

The Steering Committee is responsible for overseeing network activities including development and oversight of scientific standards, network priorities and operations, stakeholder engagement, and knowledge translation activities.

Steering Committee Members

Karina Top, Co-Lead, MD MS FRCPC
University of Alberta, Special Immunization Clinic (SIC) Network - Canadian Immunization Research Network

Robert Chen, Co-Lead, MD MA FISPE
The Task Force for Global Health, Brighton Collaboration

Asimenia Angelidou, MD PhD
Precision Vaccines Program, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School

Bruce Carleton, BSc, PharmD, FACCP, FISPE
BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of British Columbia

Buddy Creech, MD MPH
Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Clare Cutland, MBBCh DCH PhD
African Leadership in Vaccinology Expertise (ALIVE), University of the Witwatersrand

Eunice Kagucia, PhD
KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP), Colorado School of Public Health - Center for Global Health

Jim Buttery, MBBS FRACP MSc MD CHIA
Global Vaccine Data Network, Royal Children’s Hospital, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, University of Melbourne

Joann Arce, PhD
Precision Vaccines Program, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School

Lael Yonker, MD PhD
UT Southwestern Medical Center, The University of Texas

Nadine Rouphael, MD, PhD
Emory University School of Medicine, Emory University

Nigel Crawford, PhD MPH MBBS
Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Royal Children’s Hospital, Victorian Safety Service

Ofer Levy, MD PhD
Precision Vaccines Program, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School

Paolo Palma, MD PhD
Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù, Vaccinopolis - University of Antwerp

Sonali Kochhar, MD PhD
Global Healthcare Consulting, WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE)

Steve Black, MD PhD
Global Vaccine Data Network, University of Cincinnati and Children’s Hospital, University of Auckland, The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal