Jennifer Van Heerden

I am a doctor and researcher at Oxford University, in the Malaria Vaccine Programme at the
Draper Lab and Oxford Vaccine Group. My role is to provide medical oversight to study
participants and to contribute to the design and delivery of clinical trials within our research
group. Our clinical studies assess the safety, immunogenicity and efficacy of blood-stage
malaria vaccine candidates and often involve Controlled Human Malaria Infections (CHMIs)
or malaria ‘challenges’. 
After completing my medical degree at Stellenbosch University in 2019, I worked in both
clinical and research settings within South Africa. With an interest in infectious diseases and
pulmonology, my previous research has focused on HIV, tuberculosis (TB), post-TB lung
disease and COVID-19. I also hold a Diploma in HIV management from the Colleges of
Medicine of South Africa. In 2023, after working for the Centre for Infectious Diseases
Research in Africa (CIDRI-Africa) in Cape Town, I moved to Oxford University where I
completed my MSc in Integrated Immunology at the Nuffield Department of Surgical
Sciences.