I studied for my BSc in Biology at the University of Bath from 2016-2020, where I developed a keen interest in immunology and infectious disease. During my studies, I completed an industrial placement with Oxford Immunotec from 2018-2019. During this year, I completed routine screening of patient samples for the presence of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection using a T-cell ELISpot immunoassay platform as a diagnostic aid. Following graduation, I joined the Laboratory of Viral Zoonotics, headed by Prof. Jonathan Heeney, at the Dep of Vet Medicine as a research assistant working on universal coronavirus and influenza vaccine development projects. This involved implementing and optimising immunoassays to delineate the immunity of vaccine candidates during animal studies. I am currently completing my postgraduate studies within the lab, alongside my research assistantship, and utilise these skills to elucidate pre-existing cross-reactive immunity between different betacoronaviruses to better inform on the development of broadly protective betacoronavirus vaccines.
