The University of Oxford, through its strategic partnership with the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT) , has received research funding of £118m to launch an ambitious new programme of vaccine research.
Led by the Oxford Vaccine Group , the new initiative based in the University - CoI-AI (Correlates of Immunity-Artificial Intelligence) - will combine Oxford's expertise in human challenge studies, immune science and vaccine development with EITs cutting edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) innovation technology to better understand how the body fights infection and how vaccines protect us.
The CoI-AI programme will study how the immune system responds to important germs that cause serious infections and contribute to antibiotic resistance - such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, and E. coli, - amongst others, which cause widespread illness but have resisted traditional vaccine approaches. Researchers will use human challenge models (where volunteers are safely exposed to bacteria under controlled conditions) and apply modern immunology and AI tools to pinpoint the immune responses that predict 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 Sir Andrew Pollard (Credit: Nicholas Posner)Professor Daniela Ferreira , Deputy Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, said: 'This programme will give us completely new tools to study how vaccines work at both a cellular and system-wide level, by studying infections in real time, in people, and using smart immunology tools and data to find the answers. This will open up whole new avenues to vaccine design as we improve our understanding of infection and immunity.'
Professor Daniela FerreiraLarry Ellison, Chairman of the Ellison Institute of Technology , said: 'Researchers in the CoI-AI programme will use Artificial Intelligence models developed at EIT to identify and better understand the immune responses that predict protection. This vaccine development programme combines Oxford's leadership in immunology and human challenge models with cutting-edge AI, laying the groundwork for a new era of vaccine discovery - one that is faster, smarter, and better able to respond to infectious disease outbreaks throughout the world.'
Professor Irene Tracey, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, said: '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.'
In December 2024 the University of Oxford and EIT announced a long-term strategic alliance to develop the solutions and future leaders needed to tackle some of the greatest and most enduring challenges facing humanity.
EIT combines cutting-edge research and commercial capability, to drive scientific breakthroughs and create sustainable, ethical companies, bringing together cross-cutting capabilities and talent spanning generative biology, clinical medicine, plant science, sustainable energy, public policy, and more.
These efforts are underpinned by substantial computing capability enabled by Oracle, a world-class Artificial Intelligence team, and a Scholars programme to develop future generations of the world's finest scientists.
The Oxford Vaccine Group is a vaccine research group within the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Oxford's Medical Sciences Division .
