Organisation profile
Organisation profile
Vaccination is one of the best ways we have of protecting against infectious diseases. A century ago, illnesses like measles and polio claimed the lives of many children. Now, we have vaccines that protect against many infections, such as pneumonia and meningitis, particularly in children and the elderly. A lot of research is needed to make sure that vaccines are safe, reduce harm caused by infections, are good value for money, and offered fairly to all. The research is best done through partnerships between professionals working in different areas, including laboratory scientists, healthcare workers, mathematicians and behaviour experts. This Health Protection Research Focus Award will do this by bringing together a world-leading centre in vaccine research at the University of Bristol with the UKHSA, and public contributors.
Our vision is to deliver research that informs and enhances the NHS immunisation programme, to get the best value for health in the UK from vaccination and be prepared for future pandemics.
Our focus for this research is on how can we prevent the spread of infections. Some vaccines are better than others at preventing the spread of infection between people as they promote a protective response in the parts of the body where the germs are carried. The mouth and nose are common places for germs to be carried, meaning germs can be spread by coughing, sneezing and through saliva. We will develop lab tests to better understand how vaccines affect germs in the mouth and nose and find out which germs people are carrying even when they are not sick so we can try to spot outbreaks before they happen.
In collaboration with University of Bristol, University of Oxford, University of Warwick, University of the West of England
