Daniel O'Connor
BSc AFHEA MSc DPhil (OXON)
Associate Professor | Head of Bioinformatics
Daniel has both a wet-laboratory and bioinformatics background, his main research interests relate to the analysis of contemporary, high-dimensional datasets (e.g. genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic) to elucidate the molecular determinants of vaccine responses.
UTILISING THE SYSTEMS TOOLKIT TO ELUCIDATE THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING RESPONSES TO INFANT IMMUNISATION
Vaccine responses and the persistence of vaccine-immunity vary considerably between individuals, this is particularly relevant in childhood, as infants generally have lower magnitude immune responses that wane more rapidly than adults. My research utilises contemporary methods, such as genome-wide genotyping and next-generation sequencing, to explore the mechanisms underlying immunological and physiological responses to childhood vaccinations.
Key publications
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Human leukocyte antigen alleles associate with COVID-19 vaccine immunogenicity and risk of breakthrough infection.
Mentzer AJ. et al, (2023), Nat Med, 29, 147 - 157
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Molecular correlates of vaccine-induced protection against typhoid fever.
Zhu H. et al, (2023), J Clin Invest, 133
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Gene expression profiling reveals insights into infant immunological and febrile responses to group B meningococcal vaccine.
O'Connor D. et al, (2020), Mol Syst Biol, 16
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Common Genetic Variations Associated with the Persistence of Immunity following Childhood Immunization.
O'Connor D. et al, (2019), Cell Rep, 27, 3241 - 3253.e4
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Multi-omics analysis reveals COVID-19 vaccine induced attenuation of inflammatory responses during breakthrough disease.
Drury RE. et al, (2024), Nat Commun, 15
Recent publications
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A 5-transcript signature for discriminating viral and bacterial etiology in pediatric pneumonia.
Viz-Lasheras S. et al, (2025), iScience, 28
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The Diagnostic Utility of Host RNA Biosignatures in Adult Patients With Sepsis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Loi MV. et al, (2025), Crit Care Explor, 7
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A diagnostic host-specific transcriptome response for Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia to guide pediatric patient treatment.
Viz-Lasheras S. et al, (2025), Nat Commun, 16
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Hypoxia-related immune subsets induced bySalmonellaTyphi infection link early bacterial gut invasion to human infection outcomes
Ben-Moshe NB. et al, (2025)
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Typhoid toxin ofSalmonellaTyphi elicits host antimicrobial response during acute typhoid fever
Srour S. et al, (2024)