VALIDATE Pump-Priming Awards November 2019

Huge congratulations to the grant awardees for VALIDATE's final planned Pump-Priming funding call:

Cross protection against TB by attenuated Mycobacterium ulcerans strain 5114

Led by Dr Justice Boakye-Appiah (SGUL, UK), with Prof Rajko Reljic (SGUL, UK) and Asst Prof Tufária Mussá (Eduardo Mondlane University, Mozambique).

Characterising the cellular immunity and metabolic response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Burkholderia pseudomallei in Indian patients for vaccine design

Led by Prof Chiranjay Mukhopadhyay (Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India), with Prof Susanna Dunachie (University of Oxford, UK) and Prof Mitali Chatterjee (IPGMER, India).

T cell receptor sequencing to identify correlates of protection in human tuberculosis vaccine studies

Led by Assoc Prof Gabriele Pollara (UCL, UK), with Prof Mahdad Noursadeghi (UCL, UK), Assoc Prof Susanna Brighenti (Karolinska Institutet, Sweden), Assoc Prof Senait Ashenafi Betemariam (Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia) and Prof Benny Chain (UCL, UK).

Modelling the impact of a transmission blocking vaccine against leishmaniasis on sand fly vectorial capacity

Led by Assoc Prof Matthew Rogers (LSHTM, UK), with Dr Laith Yakob (LSHTM, UK) and Dr Godwin Kwakye-Nuako (University of Cape Coast, Ghana).

An ex vivo model for understanding the impact of vaccination on Mycobacterial persister populations

Led by Prof Samantha Sampson (Stellenbosch University, South Africa), with Dr Andrea Zelmer (LSHTM, UK) and Dr Jacoba Mouton (Stellenbosch University, South Africa).

Investigating the BCG-induced Natural Killer (NK) cell response in cattle and humans

Led by Dr Iman Satti (University of Oxford, UK), with Asst Prof Stephen Cose (UVRI, Uganda), Prof Helen McShane (University of Oxford, UK), Prof Alison Elliott (UVRI, Uganda) and Prof Jayne Hope (University of Edinburgh, UK).

Cytomegalovirus as a risk factor for TB and leishmaniasis

Led by Dr Lisa Stockdale (University of Oxford, UK), with Asst Prof Robin Basu Roy (LSHTM, UK), Dr Vivian Tamietti Martins (Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil), Assoc Prof Eduardo Coelho (Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil) and Prof Helen Fletcher (LSHTM, UK).

Innovative tools to measure mycobacterial antigen expression in tissue

Led by Dr Simon Waddell (University of Sussex, UK), with Dr F. Javier Salguero Bodes (PHE, UK), Assoc Prof Gobena Ameni (Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia), Dr Sally Sharpe (PHE, UK) and Dr Ann Rawkins (PHE, UK).

We wish them all good luck with their projects, and look forward to seeing what results they discover. You can find out more about all our funded Pump-Priming Projects here.

Published 26 November 2019