Leila Godfrey

My current project is with Professor Maheshi Ramasamy delivering a package of exploratory immunology data for a first in human clinical trial of an anti-bacterial vaccine for invasive non-Typhoidal Salmonella. A disease that claims an estimated 263,000 infant lives per year, difficult to detect and treat, and with a threat of antibiotic resistance. We are using spectral flow cytometry and systems serology experiments for a deep analysis of the immune response to both the bacteria and the vaccine.

Working in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 trial team at The Jenner Institute with Professor Tess Lambe and Professor Sarah Gilbert, I contributed to measuring the magnitude, longevity and phenotype of the T cell response to the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Lead for the variants trial, I also collaborated with the Dong Group to explore in depth the vaccine response to challenge by emerging variants of concern.

Before The Jenner Institute, I worked with Professor John Todd at the Diabetes and Inflammation Laboratory (DIL) in the Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics. Here, I helped to develop a novel single cell sequencing technology which combines mRNA and protein quantitation. This new assay has now been used to explore regulatory T cell populations in autoimmune disease. I also performed flow cytometric phenotyping analyses for biomarker identification in clinical trial samples from patients with type 1 diabetes, with specialist training in the purification of specific lymphoid populations by flow cytometric sorting (BD FACSAria Fusion).

Prior to DIL, I worked for 2 years in Analytical Development at Immunocore, a Biotech with clinical stage T cell receptor therapies. My Doctoral training under Professor Margaret Callan at Imperial College London, studied the role of Natural Killer Cells in dysfunctional inflammation