Project Summary

The purpose of this programme is to re-imagine how we design and develop vaccines by combining cutting-edge immunology with new artificial intelligence to understand human immunity and predict what protects us from serious infections. To achieve this, we are using advanced human immunological and genetic tools - alongside experimental medicine studies including human pathogen challenge - to decode the mechanisms of protective human immunity against key pathogens. This work will unlock a new world of understanding of human biology to conquer some of the difficult challenges in infectious diseases.

In this interdisciplinary programme there are opportunities for DPhil students from a range of disciplines.

Project examples:

• Several projects to determine the nature of protective immunity against major human pathogens such as Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus, using human challenge studies and vaccines to identify the immune responses, including immunity at the mucosa, that reduce the risk of infection
• Building generative AI models using multi-dimensional data to predict immunity using data from experimental medicine studies of the human immune response to infection and vaccination. And testing robustness of models

Potential Supervisors  

• Professor Daniela Ferreira (Professor of Respiratory Infection and Vaccinology, Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford)
• Dr Malick Gibani (Clinician scientist, EIT)
• Dr Matej Macak (VP of Applied ML for AI & Robotics, EIT)
• Professor Sir Andrew Pollard (Ashall Professor of Infection & Immunity, Director of The Oxford Vaccine Group, University of Oxford)

Skills Recommended

• Clinical background
• Scientists with training in immunology or microbiology
• Highly developed quantitative analytical skills, including statistics and machine learning
• All applicants should have demonstrable critical thinking and problem–solving abilities and strong written and verbal communication skills

University DPhil Courses 

DPhil course with the following entry requirements:

• A first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours in a subject relevant to the research project you are applying to.
• No Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or GMAT scores are sought.
• This course requires proficiency in English at the University's standard level.  
• You will need to register three referees who can give an informed view of your academic ability and suitability for the course.

‍