(1) In his Harrington Prize Essay entitled “HPV vaccination to prevent cervical cancer and other HPV-associated disease: from basic science to effective interventions” (2016), Douglas R. Lowy discusses the development of the HPV vaccines and the efficacy and mechanism of action of virus like particles (VLPs) in these vaccines. (2) Lowy provides evidence that HPV vaccines using VLPs cause immune cells to build a response to HPV, therefore preventing infection. (3) The purpose of this essay was to both give history and context to the development of HPV vaccination as well as discuss the mechanisms by which the vaccination induces immunity. (4) Lowy uses a conversational tone in the essay to describe the development of the vaccine, while also using scientific language to describe methods. The intended audience of this essay was others in the scientific community.
