How do age and biological sex influence vaccine responses and public health guidelines?

Project by Polygence alum Samiya

How do age and biological sex influence vaccine responses and public health guidelines?

Project's result

I created a research article that talks about how biological sex and age influence vaccination. My article is being published on medRxiv and Vanderbilt's Young Scientist Research Journal.

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Summary

Vaccines are a biological substance that are used to protect against many viruses. Vaccinations play an important role in public health and society because they prevent the spread of infectious and even deadly diseases. There are many factors that can influence vaccine responses. In this research review, I will be discussing two universal factors that play a role in vaccine efficacy—age and biological sex. Specifically, I will cover how these topics influence public health policies and side effects. By gaining a better understanding of how age and biological sex can affect vaccination, we can improve the effectiveness of vaccine development and reach herd immunity.

Kim-Marie

Kim-Marie

Polygence mentor

PhD Doctor of Philosophy

Subjects

Biology, Medicine

Expertise

structural biology - cryo-electron microscopy; immunology - adaptive immune system, antibodies; virology - HIV, SARS-CoV-2, influenza; protein engineering - vaccine design

Samiya

Samiya

Student

Hi! My name is Samiya and my Polygence project is on vaccinations and immunizations. I chose to work on this project because with the recent events with COVID-19, I want to learn more about how vaccines work. My project is now complete and it is a research paper on biological sex and age influencing vaccination.

School

Windermere High School

Graduation Year

2025

Project review

“My mentor was very helpful and supported me throughout the entire journey. I learned what it was like to formulate an educational article. I loved how there were so many resources to help me improve my experience. ”

About my mentor

“My mentor was there for me whenever I needed; she was flexible, guiding, and open to anything I had to say.”