Vaccines and the discovery of new antimicrobial drugs are one of our most effective means for controlling infectious diseases.
All vaccines rely on one simple principle: give the immune system a head start advantage over the pathogen by teaching it to recognise the pathogen before an actual infection occurs. The immune system then forms a “memory” of the pathogen and can build defences capable of eliminating it and its associated disease during a real infection. They are known to be the safest, most effective way to prevent infectious diseases, and they have enabled the worldwide eradication of many devastating diseases like polio and smallpox. However, vaccines capable of completely protecting against a pathogen as complex as the malaria parasite or TB have never been successfully created, and many logistical and societal challenges to vaccination delivery programmes exist. Here at Cambridge, our researchers are working across disciplines to fast track the scientific discoveries to illuminate fundamental aspects of immunity and responses to infection and examine vaccine delivery and societal challenges and that will enable us to beat these deadly pathogens.
Explore Campus
Work in this area is undertaken in numerous research groups and collaborations across Cambridge, particularly in the Departments of Pharmacology, Pathology, Biochemistry, Veterinary Medicine.