Safety and Immunogenicity of a monovalent inactivated influenza A/H5N8 virus vaccine given with and without AS03 or MF59 adjuvants in healthy adults.

BACKGROUND: Avian influenza A/H5N8 virus infections have been circulating widely in wild and domestic bird populations with transmission to a few human poultry workers. This phase 1, randomized, blinded trial evaluated the safety and immunogenicity of a monovalent inactivated influenza A/H5N8 virus vaccine (H5N8 IIV) given with and without AS03 or MF59 adjuvants. METHODS: 275 healthy adults, ages 19-64 years, were randomized to one of five groups to receive two doses of 15 µg unadjuvanted influenza A/gyrfalcon/Washington/41088-6/2014(H5N8) (clade 2.3.4.4c) virus vaccine or two doses of 7.5 or 15 µg of vaccine adjuvanted with AS03 or MF59. Immunogenicity was assessed through 21 days following the second dose of vaccine using hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) and microneutralization (MN) assays for the homologous influenza A/H5N8 and three heterologous influenza A/H5 viruses. Safety was assessed through 1 year. RESULTS: The vaccines were well tolerated. Only modest immune responses were seen following receipt of a single dose of vaccine. Seroprotection (HAI titers ≥40) was more common in groups that received AS03 plus 7.5 or 15 µg of vaccine (89% and 93%, respectively) compared to the MF59-adjuvanted groups (56% and 73%), while unadjuvanted vaccine showed a poor response (27%). Higher antigen content resulted in modestly improved immune responses. HAI and MN GMTs and seroconversion rates were low across all study groups for all three heterologous strains of influenza A/H5 virus. CONCLUSIONS: AS03 or MF59-adjuvanted H5N8 IIV generated strong immunogenic responses following two doses. There was poor cross-reactivity for the three antigenically drifted H5N1 strains tested.

Scholarly Productivity and Occupational Stress Among Physician Assistant Educators.

PURPOSE: Academic scholarship continues to challenge physician assistant (PA) educators in the United States, who typically enter academia with little experience in research or publication. Consequently, difficulty with navigating the promotion process might be expected to impact both job satisfaction and retention of PA faculty. Providing reasonable benchmarks for scholarship is one focus of this project, along with exploration of relationships among publication success, gender, job stressors, program support, and intent to leave academia. METHODS: Deidentified data from the online 2017 Faculty & Directors Survey was obtained from the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA), including gender, academic rank, program role, degree, publication numbers, and variables measuring program support, stressors, and intent to leave the institution or academia. Individual response rate was 60.3%, N = 1009. SPSS-v25 was used for data analysis. RESULTS: Respondents were 65% female. The mean number of total publications was 2.7 (down from 4.2 in 2010); the median was zero with 50.6% reporting no publications during their career. Almost half (45.5%) of PA faculty were stressed by research or publishing demands; 53.6% were stressed by the promotion process. Physician assistant educators stressed by promotion were more likely to consider leaving their institution or academia as a whole (Fisher's exact, P < .001 for both). CONCLUSION: This study updates publication benchmarks for PA educators. Scholarship levels have dropped since 2010, likely related to the recent influx of junior faculty. Navigating the promotions process is a significant occupational stressor for PA educators and is associated with faculty intent to leave academia.

Benchmarking the scholarly productivity of physician assistant educators: an update.

PURPOSE: Success in scholarship has long challenged physician assistant (PA) educators, most of whom enter academia with little experience in research or writing. Since most PA programs grant a professional graduate degree, and expectations for PA faculty typically focus on teaching and service rather than research, it is reasonable for promotion and tenure decisions to be based on comparisons from within the PA education realm. Providing such benchmarks is the focus of this report. Predictors of successful publication and trends over time are also explored briefly. METHODS: De-identified data from the 2010 Faculty Survey were obtained from the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA), including basic demographics, faculty rank and program role, degree, and number of peer-reviewed publications. PAEA distributed the online survey in March 2010 to all faculty associated with member programs. The response rate was 35%, N = 425. SPSS version 19 was used for data analysis. RESULTS: Respondents were 58.1% female. The mean number of publications reported by respondents over their entire career was 4.2, and over the last 3 years was 1.7. The respective median numbers of publications were one and zero. Logistic regression analysis identified three significant predictors of publication success: number of years in PA education, previous publications, and highest degree attained. CONCLUSIONS: This study seeks to provide rational benchmarks for PA program faculty seeking promotion or tenure. Previous publications and highest degree attained are key factors predicting successful publication. There is a continuing need for faculty development activities to help PA educators publish successfully.