Sarah Gilbert

Gilbert attended Kettering High School, where she realised that she wanted to work in medicine.[9] She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences, from the University of East Anglia, and moved to the University of Hull for her doctoral degree, where she investigated the genetics and biochemistry of the yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides.[10][9]

After earning her doctoral degree Gilbert worked as a postdoctoral researcher in industry at the Brewing Industry Research Foundation before moving to the Leicester Biocentre. In 1990, Gilbert joined Delta Biotechnology, a biopharmaceutical company that manufactured drugs in Nottingham.[9][11] In 1994, Gilbert returned to academia, joining the laboratory of Adrian V. S. Hill. Her early research considered host–parasite interactions in malaria.[9] She was made a Reader in Vaccinology at the University of Oxford in 2004.[9] She was made Professor at the Jenner Institute in 2010. With the support of the Wellcome Trust, Gilbert started work on the design and creation of novel influenza vaccinations.[9] In particular, her research considers the development and preclinical testing of viral vaccinations, which embed a pathogenic protein inside a safe virus.[12][13] These viral vaccinations induce a T cell response, which can be used against viral diseases, malaria and cancer.[12]

Graphical representation of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses.

Gilbert was involved with the development and testing of the universal flu vaccine. Unlike conventional vaccinations, the universal flu vaccine did not stimulate the production of antibodies, but instead triggers the immune system to create T cells that are specific for influenza.[14] It makes use of one of the core proteins (nucleoprotein and matrix protein 1) inside the Influenza A virus, not the external proteins that exist on the outside coat.[15] As the immune system weakens with age, conventional vaccinations are not effective for elderly. The universal flu vaccine does not need to be reformatted every year and stops people from needing a seasonal flu vaccine.[15] Her first clinical trials, which were in 2008, made use of the Influenza A virus subtype H3N2, and included daily monitoring of the patient's symptoms.[15][16] It was the first study that it was possible to stimulate T cells in response to a flu virus, and that this stimulation would protect people from getting the flu.[15] Her research has demonstrated that the adenoviral vector ChAdOx1 can be used to make vaccinations that are protective against Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in mice and able to induce immune response against MERS in humans.[17][18] The same vector was also used to create a vaccine against Nipah which was effective in hamsters (but never proven in humans),[19] in addition to a potential vaccine for Rift Valley Fever that was protective in sheep, goats, and cattle (but not proven in humans).[20]

Gilbert has been involved with the development of a new vaccination to protect against coronavirus since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.[21][22][23][2] She leads the work on this vaccine candidate alongside Andrew Pollard, Teresa Lambe, Sandy Douglas, Catherine Green and Adrian Hill.[24] As with her earlier work, the COVID-19 vaccine makes use of an adenoviral vector, which stimulates an immune response against the coronavirus spike protein.[21][22] Plans were announced to start animal studies in March 2020, and recruitment began of 510 human participants for a phase I/II trial on 27 March.[25][26][27] In April 2020, Gilbert was interviewed about the developments by Andrew Marr on BBC television.[28] That same month, Gilbert was reported as saying that her candidate vaccine could be available by September 2020,[29] if everything goes to plan with the clinical trial, which has received funding from sources such as the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.[30] Gilbert delivered an update in September 2020 that the vaccine, AZD1222, was being produced by AstraZeneca while phase III trials were ongoing.[31] Because of her vaccine research, Gilbert featured on The Times' 'Science Power List' in May 2020.[32]

Gilbert was the subject of BBC Radio 4's The Life Scientific in September 2020.[33] She was also on the list of the BBC's 100 Women announced on 23 November 2020.[34]

According to Google Scholar, Gilbert has an h-index of 81.[1] Her publications[1][35][36] include:

• Schneider, Jörg; Gilbert, Sarah C.; Blanchard, Tom J.; Hanke, Tomas; Robson, Kathryn J.; Hannan, Carolyn M.; Becker, Marion; Sinden, Robert; Smith, Geoffrey L.; Hill, Adrian V.S. (1998). "Enhanced immunogenicity for CD8+ T cell induction and complete protective efficacy of malaria DNA vaccination by boosting with modified vaccinia virus Ankara". Nature Medicine. 4 (4): 397–402. doi:10.1038/nm0498-397. ISSN 1078-8956. PMID 9546783. S2CID 11413461.
• McShane, H; Pathan, A A; Sander, C R; Keating, S M; Gilbert, S C; Huygen, K; Fletcher, H A; Hill, A V S (December 2004). "Erratum: Recombinant modified vaccinia virus Ankara expressing antigen 85A boosts BCG-primed and naturally acquired antimycobacterial immunity in humans". Nature Medicine. 10 (12): 1397. doi:10.1038/nm1204-1397a. ISSN 1078-8956.
• McConkey, Samuel J.; Reece, William H. H.; Moorthy, Vasee S.; Webster, Daniel; Dunachie, Susanna; Butcher, Geoff; Vuola, Jenni M.; Blanchard, Tom J.; Gothard, Philip; Watkins, Kate; Hannan, Carolyn M. (2003). "Enhanced T-cell immunogenicity of plasmid DNA vaccines boosted by recombinant modified vaccinia virus Ankara in humans". Nature Medicine. 9 (6): 729–735. doi:10.1038/nm881. ISSN 1546-170X. PMID 12766765. S2CID 6670274.
• Gilbert, S. C. (1998-02-20). "Association of Malaria Parasite Population Structure, HLA, and Immunological Antagonism". Science. 279 (5354): 1173–1177. Bibcode:1998Sci...279.1173G. doi:10.1126/science.279.5354.1173. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 9469800.

Gilbert gave birth to triplets in 1998. Her partner gave up his career to be their primary carer.[9][37]

• Sarah Gilbert publications indexed by Google Scholar
• Sarah Gilbert on LinkedIn