The University of Oxford, in partnership with the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), has launched a major new £118m vaccine research programme.
Led by the Oxford Vaccine Group, the initiative – CoI-AI (Correlates of Immunity-Artificial Intelligence) – will combine Oxford’s expertise in human challenge studies, immune science and vaccine development with EIT’s cutting-edge AI innovation to deepen understanding of how the body fights infection and how vaccines provide protection.
Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, said:
“This programme addresses one of the most urgent problems in infectious disease by helping us to understand immunity more deeply to develop innovative vaccines against deadly diseases that have so far evaded our attempts at prevention. By combining advanced immunology with artificial intelligence, and using human challenge models to study diseases, CoI-AI will provide the tools we need to tackle serious infections and reduce the growing threat of antibiotic resistance. This is a new frontier in vaccine science.”
Professor Irene Tracey, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, added:
“This is a major step forward in our strategic alliance with the Ellison Institute. Together, we’re combining Oxford’s strengths in vaccine science with EIT’s bold vision to tackle some of the toughest problems in global health. This is about drawing more talent and capacity to the Oxford ecosystem to turn scientific challenges into real solutions for the world.”
The CoI-AI programme will study immune responses to infections such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli, which cause serious illness but have resisted traditional vaccine approaches.
You can read the full announcement on the Ellison Institute of Technology’s website here.
