NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre

Enabling translational research through partnership

MENUMENU
  • About
    • About the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre
    • NIHR Oxford BRC impact
    • Steering Committee
    • Promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in research
    • Current Vacancies
    • Stay in Touch
    • Contact Us
  • Research

        • Research Overview
        • Clinical Research Facility
        • Health Economics
        • Ethics in the NIHR Oxford BRC
        • Medical Statistics
        • Infections in Oxfordshire Database (IORD)
        • 15 Research Themes

        • Cancer
        • Cardiovascular Medicine
        • Digital Health from Hospital to Home
        • Gene and Cell Therapy
        • Genomic Medicine
        • Imaging
        • Inflammation across Tissues
        • Life-saving Vaccines
        • Metabolic Experimental Medicine
        • Modernising Medical Microbiology and Big Infection Diagnostics
        • Musculoskeletal
        • Preventive Neurology
        • Respiratory Medicine
        • Surgical Innovation, Technology and Evaluation
        • Translational Data Science
  • Patient and Public Involvement
    • For patients and the public
    • For researchers
    • More information
  • Training Hub
    • Training Hub Overview
    • Clinical Academic Pathway
    • Internships
    • Pre-doctoral Research Fellowships
    • Senior Research Fellowships
    • Research Training Bursaries
    • Doctoral Awards
    • Post-Doctoral Awards
    • PARC Programme
    • Other funding
    • Leadership Training
    • Useful Links
    • Training and Education Resources
    • Upcoming Training Events & Courses
  • Industry
    • Collaborate with Oxford BRC
    • Who Do We Work With?
    • Events
    • Further Information and Additional Resources
    • Contacts for Industry
  • Videos
  • News
  • Events

News

You are here: Home > Life-saving Vaccines > New study to improve vaccines and therapeutics development

New study to improve vaccines and therapeutics development

1 May 2024 · Listed under Life-saving Vaccines

A first-of-its-kind study led by the University of Oxford has successfully investigated human immunity against COVID-19 in people who already have antibodies against it.

volunteer taking part in the COVID human challenge trial
A volunteer taking part in the COVID human challenge trial

The results suggest that previous infection, together with vaccination, offers strong protection against the original COVID-19 strain.

People who do not have antibodies against a particular infectious agent are ‘seronegative’ and those who have antibodies are called ‘seropositive’. Over 99% of the UK population and 59% of the world’s population is seropositive, which means they already have antibodies against COVID-19. This means finding seronegative volunteers for an infection model is increasingly very difficult as most people have been either infected, vaccinated, or both.

For vaccine development, researchers create controlled human infection models (CHIMs), where they deliberately infect healthy volunteers under very carefully controlled clinical conditions. These CHIMs can then be used to rapidly test or compare new vaccines or treatments in a controlled environment.

For this study, which was supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), researchers wanted to use a COVID-19 CHIM to measure what kind of immune responses stop people who have been previously infected and/or vaccinated from being infected again.

The data from this COVCHIM01 study showed durable immunity post-infection/vaccination against the original COVID-19 virus, which may help develop better vaccines preventing mild infections. The study compared the immune responses of volunteers who were infected in this study with those who were uninfected and found that antibodies in the lining of the nose, the route the virus enters the body, may be important in preventing infection.

A number of participants who were able to avoid developing infection with the original strain of virus used in the study subsequently developed infections in the community with the Omicron variant. The researchers are investigating this further by pursuing the use of newer variants to create a CHIM with a sufficient rate of infection to enable the assessment of new vaccines or COVID-19 treatments.

Such studies are important to find the most efficient and effective way to test new treatments and vaccines so that they can be utilised as soon as possible.

Professor Helen McShane

Professor Helen McShane (pictured left), Professor of Vaccinology at the Department of Paediatrics, Director of the MIHR Oxford BRC and the lead author of the study, said: “This is a really important proof of concept study demonstrating that controlled human infection studies can be safely carried out during a pandemic and importantly provide valuable information that is difficult to obtain in traditional field studies.

“We hope this provides confidence in the use of human infection studies as a tool both for the development of improved COVID vaccines and therapeutics and for potential future pandemics.”

Published in The Lancet Microbe, this was the first study undertaken at the new NIHR Oxford Clinical Research Facility, at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford. As well as the Oxford BRC, it was funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Department for Health and Social Care/UK Health Security Agency.

← Breakthrough aerosol human infection model gives hope for future TB vaccine development
Funding announced for hepatitis C controlled human infection model trial →

Other news

News Categories

News by Month

See all news

Subscribe to the Oxford BRC Newsletter

Keep informed about the work of the Oxford BRC by subscribing to our Mailchimp e-newsletter. It is produced several times a year and delivers news and information about upcoming events straight to your inbox.

Subscribe Now

Feedback

We’d love to hear your feedback. Please contact us at [email protected]

Oxford BRC on Social Media

  • Bluesky
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Threads
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Data Control and Privacy
  • Accessibility
  • Our Partners
  • Disclaimer
  • Contact

Copyright © 2025 NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre