Dr. Venditto joins us back on the podcast to share his wealth of knowledge and expertise in the efficacy and effectiveness of vaccines, and how they impact the spread of viruses, specifically of COVID-19. As a communicator of science, Dr. Venditto also talks about the limitations when it comes to the vaccine, sharing facts about science in a clear and concise way. He shares his take on the life cycle of COVID-19, where we are in the timeline of the pandemic, and how long we’ll be in it for.
Centers For Independent Living have been charged to promote the vaccine among people with disabilities and Tony shares his experience with common reasons for why people are hesitant to get the vaccine. To help address concerns and answer consumer questions, Tony gets Dr. Venditto’s take on how he would respond to people who don’t want to get the vaccine or who are on the fence about getting the vaccine. Additionally, as a concerned parent, Tony gets Dr. Venditto’s feedback on getting young children vaccinated.
Dr. Vincent J. Venditto is an assistant professor in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Kentucky. He received training in vaccine design and immunology and continues to investigate vaccine strategies to better understand how the immune system works in disease progression. He obtained a BS in chemistry from Gettysburg College and then worked for two years at the NCI, NIH as a cancer research trainee before attending graduate school. He obtained a PhD in chemistry from Texas A&M University and worked on vaccine development as an NIH postdoctoral fellow at University of California, San Francisco. Students and fellows in his lab come from diverse backgrounds with interests in chemistry, biology, drug delivery and experimental therapeutics, but a common goal of exploring novel methods to modulate the immune system. Students and fellows in his lab are encouraged to utilize their skills to advance projects while learning new skills to better appreciate the various aspects of designing novel immunotherapies.
