Funded VALIDATE Fellowships
VALIDATE Fellowships are competitively awarded to excellent Early Career Researcher (Associate) Members to fund two years' independent scientific research with the aim of producing initial/pilot data, and a funding and experience track record, that can be used by the Fellow to go on to obtain independent external funding and launch their career as a Principal Investigator and/or Group Leader. Find out more about our VALIDATE Fellows and their research below.
2025- 2027
Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Brazil
Preclinical evaluation of a novel recombinant chimeric vaccine for protection against tegumentary
leishmaniasis
Instituto de Investigaciones Biomedicas en Retrovirus y Sida (INBIRS), Argentina
Boosting BCG Vaccine Efficacy through Metabolic Modulation of T Memory stem Cells: Implications for Mycobacterium tuberculosis Protection
South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative, University of Cape Town (SATVI,
UCT), South Africa
Pilot study to investigate tissue-based immunological profiles associated with TB with
single-cell spatial resolution in human lymph nodes
Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Measuring the immunogenicity and efficacy of a novel DNA-launched therapeutic for tuberculosis
in both murine and human models
Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Evaluating the Immunogenicity and Efficacy of Curdlan-PLGA Nanoparticles Encapsulating
Mycobacterium tuberculosis Antigens
2024 - 2026
Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales Agrícolas y Pecuarias (INIFAP), Mexico
Elucidating the microbicidal and regulatory functions of bovine neutrophils during a natural Mycobacterium bovis infection
Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Netherlands
Translating protective immune signatures in the lung to peripheral biomarkers for TB
Federal University of Minas Gerais (FUMG), Brazil
Evaluation of a recombinant chimeric protein vaccine with adjuvant for the protection against visceral leishmaniasis
Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Belgium
Establishing the immunogenicity of the first naturally presented Leishmania epitope vaccine candidates in Ethiopian cutaneous leishmaniasis
University of Oxford, UK
Defining the mechanism of BCG-priming and its impact on subunit vaccine boosting
Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Probing extreme phenotypes to determine correlates of risk for recurrent TB: a step towards optimised vaccine development
2022-2024
Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Identifying persister Mycobacterium tuberculosis biosignatures
CIATEJ, Mexico
Evaluation of the efficacy of BCGΔBCG1419c vaccination plus a booster of EsxG/EsxH-derived peptides to prevent tuberculosis progression caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains prevalent in Latin America
2018-2021
Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Identification of latency associated antigens and biosignatures associated with Mycobacterium tuberculosis
University of Oxford, UK
Characterising the BCG-induced antibody response to inform the design of improved vaccines against M.tuberculosis, M.leprae and M.bovis
