Fresh faces || Nelson Lee

Get to know Nelson Lee, a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases, whose research is tackling the flu.

Shelby Soke - 14 September 2018

Nelson Lee, a professor in the Department of Medicine's Division of Infectious Diseases, is a viral disease specialist. Lee arrived on campus last September and has some exciting projects underway.

What brought you to the University of Alberta?

Before I came to the University of Alberta last September, I was working as an academic physician in universities and hospitals in Hong Kong for 15 years. It was a great opportunity to come here and pursue my passion on infectious diseases research. Besides doing research, I'm involved in teaching of undergraduates and postgraduates, and provide clinical service.

You had an experience with SARS in Hong Kong. What was it like?

In 2002, after I completed my training in Vancouver, I returned to Hong Kong and started working as an infectious diseases specialist in the hospital that was the 'ground zero' of the SARS Hong Kong outbreak in 2003.

Overnight, we discovered that more than 150 patients, doctors, nurses and medical students were infected with a then-unknown virus (a novel coronavirus). It was a catastrophe. The hospital outbreak was followed by a major community outbreak in Hong Kong. The virus also spread to other parts of the world including Canada, with cases in Toronto and Vancouver.

It was a very stressful time. During the outbreak, I had to separate myself from my family for three months to avoid transmission in case I got infected. I didn't get infected, but my son was only a year old and I wanted to cuddle him, so it was a very difficult period.

Why were you interested in respiratory viral infections?

I think it was kind of an unique career pathway. I was trained in general infectious diseases, but because of the SARS outbreak, which actually ended a few months after it started, I went on to pursue my career in studying respiratory viral infections. I found out that these viruses, including influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), coronavirus and other respiratory viruses are in fact very common and can be deadly. They cause a huge disease burden in the community. Each year, these viruses lead to thousands of hospitalizations and deaths in our communities.

I have been doing research on disease burden and transmission, diagnostics, and antiviral treatments for these infections. Among the studies that I conducted, we showed that these infections, although serious, are treatable. We have been accumulating data that suggests improved patient survival if treatment is given promptly. The World Health Organization, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Infectious Diseases Society of America, and other international health authorities have quoted some of these publications.

Where do you see treatment for 'flu' and other respiratory viral diseases going?

It's very exciting to see the field moving forward. We now have new rapid diagnostics (which can provide answers in just a few hours), and hopefully soon, new treatments. Right now there is only one class of antiviral drug that we can use for 'flu' treatment. It's effective, but it's not perfect and it isn't useful in every case, especially for those with serious disease.

In the last few years, there have been many exciting developments in therapeutics, and now we do have some very good drug candidates for 'flu' and other respiratory viruses. To me, it is a real breakthrough after almost 20 years of intensive research.

What would you like people to know about the flu?

In Alberta last year, there were 9,013 lab-confirmed cases of the flu. Of those, 3,000 people were hospitalized and 243 were admitted to the intensive care unit. This is a huge disease burden. Typically, with severe cases we are talking about patients who are older, who have underlying health concerns and young children. Having said that, it really depends on the strain of virus circulating. Sometimes even healthy, young individuals may develop severe influenza leading to hospitalizations.

At the present moment, I think that the vaccine is still the best way to prevent influenza infections. The vaccine efficacy varies from year to year, but it's roughly 50 to 70 per cent depending on the degree of 'matching' between the circulating and the vaccine strains.

In the coming years, there will hopefully be some breakthroughs. Scientists are working on 'universal flu vaccines' that would cover most of the influenza virus strains, despite their yearly changes. If successfully, it will offer a much better protection to our community.

How have you liked your time in Edmonton to far?

My family and I absolutely love it here. Summer here is really nice. We even love the winter (laughs). My son loves skiing. People are very nice here and I think that the University of Alberta has offered me a lot of good opportunities in research, so it's been great.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I like cycling. I really enjoy cycling along the river valley and in Terwillegar Park. I love nature in general, so my family likes going out to the national parks and the mountains.