Understanding the cellular and humoral immune response to viral vectors

Viral vectors enable safe and efficient delivery of genes into target tissues and organs, which have transformed medicine, biomedical research and vaccine development. While gene therapies for inherited retinal degenerations using viral vectors have pioneered their clinical application, vector-induced inflammation is recognised as a key limiting factor for the efficacy and durability of gene delivery to the central nervous system (CNS). This ABViP DPhil project will focus on understanding the cellular and humoral immune responses to viral vectors with the aim of creating more effective viral products. It will explore viral vector-induced immune activation pathways in patients and animal models, including probing the roles of cytokines, molecular triggers and immune checkpoints. The project will provide opportunities to acquire state-of-the-art training in viral vector biology, molecular biology, proteomics/transcriptomics and in vivo experimental techniques at the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences (University of Oxford) and in collaboration with UCL and Oxford Biomedica.