PITCH - Key Persons
Adrian is a Clinical Immunologist interested in understanding the mechanisms that protect us from infections and how those systems fail in individuals with primary and secondary immunodeficiencies. His recent work has described risk factors for severe COVID-19 in individuals with immunodeficiencies and understanding the antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 in large cohorts of health care workers
Christopher is a Wellcome Trust Clinician Research Career Development Fellow at the University of Newcastle and an Honorary Consultant in Infectious Diseases in the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. His research focuses on protective and pathogenic mechanisms of antiviral immunity, including to SARS-CoV-2. He has a clinical research interest in delivery of vaccine trials. He is centre lead for the UK-Coronavirus Immunology Consortium and co-chair of the Royal College of Physicians affiliated Coronavirus Therapeutics Advisory Group, Immunomodulators section. Other clinical interests include high consequence viral disease, immunodeficiency and autoinflammatory disorders.
Katie is a Microbiology Consultant and the Director of Infection Prevention and Control at the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Her clinical interests include infection prevention and control, viral hepatitis, and infections in the immunocompromised host. She is also an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer in Microbiology at the University of Oxford and Vice President of the British Infection Association.
Lance is a Wellcome Fellow, Senior Clinical Lecturer and a Honorary Consultant in Infectious Diseases at the University of Liverpool Institute of Infection and Global Health and the Royal Liverpool University Hospital Tropical and Infectious Disease Unit. Current research interests include pathogenesis of arboviral disease, immunity to infection, vaccines and immune cross reactivity between flaviviruses. Other clinical interests include brain infections and infections in immunocompromised patients.
Job Titles:
- Research Fellow in Clinical Infection
Philippa is a research fellow in Clinical Infection funded by the Wellcome Trust to work on a study of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, with a particular focus on populations in southern Africa. She has a background in HIV immunology, and also has research interests in other chronic viral infections including CMV, herpes viruses and human parvovirus-4 (PARV4), and virus discovery.
Rebecca is a Wellcome Trust Career Re-entry Fellow at the University of Newcastle. Her background is in T-cell responses in HIV infection. Her current research explores the theme of host/ pathogen interactions in immunodeficient patients undergoing stem cell transplant. Her research focuses on the role of the gut microbiome during immune reconstitution. She is also chair of the ECR advisory board for Wellcome Open Research, and also EDI lead in the Translational and Clinical Research Institute in Newcastle.
Susan is the Public Health England theme lead for the Innovations in Behaviour Change theme of the HPRU in HCAI and AMR at Imperial College. She is a Healthcare Epidemiologist Consultant in Infectious Diseases and Microbiology at Public Health England. Her main research interests are in outbreak investigation and surveillance and healthcare associated infections.
Thushan is a Senior Clinical Lecturer and Honorary Consultant Physician in Infectious Diseases at the University of Sheffield and South Yorkshire Regional Department of Infection and Tropical Medicine. His interests include virology and viral immunology, having worked on HIV and influenza in West Africa prior to current work on SARS-CoV-2 immunity and viral sequencing. He continues to be a Visiting Scientist and Principal Investigator in the Vaccines and Immunity Theme at the MRC Unit The Gambia at LSHTM.
Natalie is the Public Health England Lead on COVID-related research studies for the Chief Medical Advisor's Office. She is a Social Researcher working on the SIREN study and co-ordinates collaboration with wider immunology studies.
Job Titles:
- Professor and Honorary Consultant in Clinical Immunology at the University of Birmingham
Alex is a Professor and Honorary Consultant in Clinical Immunology at the University of Birmingham. Alex has been leading a team of experts to develop a SARS-CoV-2 antibody test focussed on improving detection in individuals with mild COVID-19 disease. In collaboration with The Binding Site this is being commercialised.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Hepatology and Experimental Medicine Based at the University of Oxford
Ellie is a Professor of Hepatology and Experimental Medicine based at the University of Oxford. She leads an established research group with a focus on T cell immunology relevant to gut and liver disease, and seeks to translate laboratory and clinical findings through to human experimental medicine studies. As NIHR CLRN lead for hepatology in the Thames Valley she also oversees a portfolio of clinical studies relating to gastroenterology and hepatology at the Oxford University NHS Trust, Oxford.
Paul Klenerman trained in medicine at Cambridge and Oxford and specialised in infectious diseases. He did PhD studies on HIV at Oxford and postdoctoral work in Zurich on LCMV. His lab in Oxford has pursued studies on the immune responses to persistent viruses, especially hepatitis C virus and CMV. This has focused on T cell responses and development of T cell vaccines and on immune responses in the liver, including studies of immunological memory (memory inflation) and innate like T cells such as MAIT cells. His work has been funded largely by the Wellcome Trust as a fellow and investigator. He also receives funding through the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at Oxford where he co-leads the Mucosal Immunology theme. He currently holds a chair in the Translational Gastroenterology Unit at Oxford and at the Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research.