University of Oxford (UOXF)
The University of Oxford is a higher education institution, and the Oxford Vaccine Group is a vaccine design, development, clinical trials and laboratory evaluation research group in the University. The University of Oxford has strategically made a major investment in infrastructure to support research on vaccines and immunisation over the past 2 decades, recognising the importance of vaccines as the most cost-effective public health intervention leading to research income of over £260M for vaccines and immunisation since 2008, building from a strong scientific base in vaccine-related experimental immunology, pathogen biology & genetics and driving the largest output in vaccine research publications of any UK academic institution. By investing in dedicated vaccine research facilities and vaccine researchers, Oxford has become home to the largest not-for-profit research endeavour in immunisation in Europe.
The main tasks for UOXF in the PERISCOPE project will be in the design, delivery and evaluation of the clinical trials. We will recruit infants, children and adults to the clinical trials and obtain blood samples. Cellular analysis will be undertaken on site by flow cytometry and analysis of the B cell repertoire using high throughput techniques during the immune response. Antibody and transcriptomic analysis will be undertaken by other partners in the consortium using samples collected in Oxford.
Dr Dominic F Kelly is a BRC (Biomedical Research Centre) Consultant in Paediatrics and Vaccinology at the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust and Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Oxford Department of Paediatrics. His research interests include B-cell responses to vaccines and infection; the use of antibody repertoires to study vaccine responses and studies of pneumonia and invasive bacterial disease and their prevention in Nepal.