In this episode, Dr Ravina Kullar, an infectious disease pharmacist, epidemiologist and research consultant, and Prof. Helen Fletcher, Professor of Immunology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, come together virtually to discuss the role of T cells in vaccine development. 

During this 30-minute educational podcast, our experts explain the basics of vaccines: what they are, how they are developed and why they are so important to global public health. Dr Kullar and Prof. Fletcher discuss the mechanisms of immunity, how T cell and antibody responses are generated by the body, and how vaccine development programmes can harness T cell and antibody responses using diagnostic assays. Our speakers highlight the importance of having QC-validated, standardised T cell response assays available, and provide an overview of the roles T cell responses may play in vaccine development. 

This podcast was developed by the Global T cell Expert Consortium (GTEC), an initiative set up to bring together experts in T cells, vaccines, immunology and public health worldwide, with the aim of becoming the leading voice in T cell research during and beyond the current COVID-19 pandemic. The GTEC will educate on T cells and vaccine development through the release of publicly available educational content, and foster collaborative research efforts to address the unmet needs and unanswered questions in T cell research and vaccinology. This initiative is sponsored by Oxford Immunotec.