ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN AMOUNT OF VIRUS OR ANTIGEN EXPOSURE WITH DISEASE OUTCOMES AND IMMUNOLOGICAL RESPONSES

This dissertation focus on the impact of virus or antigen exposure levels on infectious diseases outcomes and immune response. We explored three issues in subsequent studies: 1) the association between inoculum dose and norovirus infection outcomes; 2) norovirus antibody kinetics comparisons between infection and vaccination; 3) the impact of seasonal influenza vaccine dose on homologous and heterologous immunity. Our results provide a further understanding of the impact of exposure dose.