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Sarah Catherine Gilbert (April 1962) is a British vaccinologist, professor of vaccinology at the University of Oxford and co-founder of Vaccitech who specializes in the development of vaccines against influenza and emerging viral pathogens. Led the development and testing of the Universal Flu Vaccine, which underwent clinical trials in 2011. She is one of the people working on a vaccine for COVID-19.
Quick Facts
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Born |
April 2, 1962
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Age | 62 years |
Birth place | United Kingdom |
Education | University of East Anglia, University of Hull |
Known for | Vaccine |
Occupation | Vaccinologist |
Early life
Sarah Gilbert was born in April 2, 1962 in United Kingdom.
Education
Sarah Gilbert studied at the Kettering Institute , where she realized she wanted to work in medicine. She graduated in Biological Sciences from the University of East Anglia , and completed her doctorate at the University of Hull, where she focused on biochemistry. After obtaining her doctorate, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher in industry. She started her career at the Brewing Industry Research Foundation before moving to the Leicester Biocentre. She eventually joined Delta Biotechnology , a biopharmaceutical company that manufactures drugs in Nottingham..
Personal Life
Sarah Gilbert gave birth to triplets in 1998. Her partner gave up his career to be their primary care
Research career
In 1994, Sarah Gilbert returned to the University, joining Adrian VS Cerro’s laboratory. Their initial research looked at host-parasite interactions in malaria . She was appointed Lecturer in Vaccology at Oxford University in 2004. She was appointed Professor at the Jenner Institute in 2010. With the support of the Wellcome Trust , Gilbert began working on the design and creation of new influenza vaccines. In particular, his research considers the development and preclinical testing of viral vaccines, which incorporate a pathogenic protein into a safe virus. 8 9These viral vaccines induce a T cell response , which can be used against viral diseases, malaria, and cancer.
Universal influenza vaccine
Participated in the development and testing of the universal flu vaccine. Unlike conventional vaccines, the universal flu vaccine does not stimulate the production of antibodies, but activates the immune system to create T cells that are specific for influenza. Uses one of the core proteins ( nucleoprotein and matrix protein 1) within Influenzavirus A , not the outer proteins that exist in the outer shell. elevenAs the immune system weakens with age, conventional vaccines are not effective for older people. The universal flu shot does not need to be reformatted every year and prevents people from needing a seasonal flu shot. Their first clinical tests in 2008 used the Influenza A virus subtype H3N2 , daily monitoring the symptoms of patients. It was the first study to show that it was possible to stimulate T cells in response to a flu virus, and that this stimulation would protect people from contracting the flu. Their research showed that the ChAdOx1 adenovirus vector can be used in vaccines that protect againstMiddle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) to mice and capable of inducing immune response against MERS in humans. The same vector also was used to create a vaccine against Nipah was effective in hamsters (but never tested in humans), and a potential vaccine fever Valley Rift protecting sheep, goats and cattle (but not tested on humans).
Vaccine for COVID-19
Sarah Gilbert has been involved in the development of a new vaccine to protect against coronavirus since the onset of the 2019-2020 coronavirus disease pandemic. Lidera work on this vaccine with Andrew Pollard, Teresa Lambe, Sandy Douglas, Catherine and Adrian Cerro Verde. As with its previous work, the COVID-19 vaccine uses an adenoviral vector, which stimulates an immune response against the coronavirus spike protein. Plans were announced to begin animal studies in March 2020, and recruitment of 510 human participants for a phase I / II trial began on March 27.
In April 2020,was reported that Gilbert said its vaccine candidate could be available September 2020, however, funding over 100 million pounds sterling for Junebe required to achieve, having started with funding of over £500,000 to date, 26 from sources such as the Coalition for Outbreak Preparedness Innovations. The trail of vaccine was started in 23 April by Elisa Granato.