Senior Research Associate
Research groups
Colleges
Elena Mitsi
MRes, PhD
Senior Research Associate
I obtained a BSc degree in Molecular Biology from the University of Patras (Greece), following an MRes in Biotechnology from the same university. I was awarded a 2-year Research Fellowship sponsored by the Hellenic Institute of Research and Technology as part of my post graduate studies. After the completion of my studies, I worked for a few years at the private sector, where I received clinical microbiology training.
Then, I relocated to the UK and started a PhD in Immunology of infectious diseases at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM). My thesis was focused on the impact of nasal pneumococcal colonisation on the lung immune landscape. After the completion of my PhD studies (2020), I led scientifically on two SARS-CoV-2 population studies, which resulted in high-impact factor publications and in 2021 I was promoted to Senior Research Associate.
In 2022, I was awarded a prestigious Robert Austrian Research Award in Vaccinology to study vaccine and host factors that associate with pneumococcal transmission. Additionally, in 2022 I received a collaborative EPSRC award and 3-years of funded salary, to evaluate novel inhaled therapeutics with broad spectrum antimicrobial properties, using primary airway cells and organoids. The same year I entered Career Track at LSTM, as Senior Lecturer.
Early in 2023, I joined Oxford Vaccine group (OVG). My current research focuses on:
- Host and pathogen interaction and host immunity to respiratory bacterial and viral (SARS-CoV-2, RSV and flu) co-infection at the human respiratory tract
- Identifying pathogen and host factors that associate with transmission
- The use of airway organoids in studying bacterial and viral infection and design effective preventative treatments
Recent publications
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Pneumococcal Carriage and Disease in Adults in England, 2011-2019: The Importance of Adults as a Reservoir for Pneumococcus in Communities.
El Safadi D. et al, (2025), J Infect Dis, 231, e17 - e27
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Inflammation of the nasal mucosa is associated with susceptibility to experimental pneumococcal challenge in older adults.
Urban BC. et al, (2024), Mucosal Immunol, 17, 973 - 989
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RSV and rhinovirus increase pneumococcal carriage acquisition and density, whereas nasal inflammation is associated with bacterial shedding.
Mitsi E. et al, (2024), Cell Host Microbe
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RSV and Rhinovirus asymptomatic upper airway infection increases pneumococcal carriage acquisition rates and density in adults whereas nasal inflammation is associated with bacterial shedding
Mitsi E. et al, (2024)
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Cellular and Transcriptional Signature of the Nasal Mucosa is Associated with Susceptibility to Pneumococcal Carriage in Older Adults
Urban BC. et al, (2023)