To Immunity and Beyond

Oxford University
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In a series produced by the Oxford Immunology Network, Professor Paul Klenerman talks with colleagues about their recent ground-breaking publications, exploring the original scientific goals, challenges they encountered along the way, and future ambitions in the field. This series will be of interest to anyone studying or working in immunology, medical sciences, biology or related fields. NB: To Immunity and Beyond is for educational purposes only and should not be considered professional medical advice.

  1. APR 27

    The MRC Centre of Research Excellence in Exposome Immunology

    A conversation with Professor Sheena Cruickshank about the new MRC Centre of Research Excellence in Exposome Immunology. To mark World Immunology Day, we’re joined by Professor Sheena Cruickshank from the MRC Centre of Research Excellence in Exposome Immunology. Sheena and Paul discuss how environmental and lifestyle exposures, from pollution to microbiome and socioeconomic factors, shape immune responses across the life course and contribute to disease. They explore the Centre’s integrated three-pillar approach, combining large-scale population data, mechanistic studies, and human experimental medicine to link exposure to immune function. The conversation also covers interdisciplinary team science, patient and community involvement, and how the Centre is building datasets and infrastructure that can support future discovery. Finally, they discuss the implications of climate change, eco-immunology, and how this work could inform drug repurposing, target identification, and evidence-based policy. The MRC Centre of Research Excellence in Exposome Immunology is supported by the Medical Research Council Centre of Research Excellence in Exposome Immunology [grant number UKRI/MR/B000935/1].  Further reading: • Sheena M Cruickshank, Kathryn J Else, Iris Mair, Holly Shiels, Susanne Shultz, How (Eco)immunology can augment global EcoHealth programmes: opportunities, needs, and challenges, Discovery Immunology, Volume 3, Issue 1, 2024, kyae015, https://doi.org/10.1093/discim/kyae015 • Markel Vigo, Lamiece Hassan, William Vance, Caroline Jay, Andrew Brass, Sheena Cruickshank, Britain Breathing: using the experience sampling method to collect the seasonal allergy symptoms of a country, Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, Volume 25, Issue 1, January 2018, Pages 88–92, https://doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocx148 • Community consultation on health, air quality and active travel in Hulme and Ardwick: https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/activities/community-consultation-on-health-air-quality-and-active-travel-in/ • Report of a case study in exploring barriers and developing solutions to encourage take up of active travel in Ardwick, Greater Manchester: https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/activities/report-of-a-case-study-in-exploring-barriers-and-developing-solut/

    25 min

  2. FEB 4

    Unravelling T-Cell Recognition – Insights from Immunology and AI

    A conversation with Professor Hashem Koohy about possibilities for use of AI in driving forward T cell research. In the first To Immunity and Beyond episode of 2026, Paul Klenerman speaks with systems biologist Hashem Koohy, whose career journey from pure mathematics to immunology offers a fresh lens on T cell research. Hashem describes how advances in genomics, data science, and AI led him to focus on one of immunology’s central challenges: understanding how T cells recognise their targets, a process critical to infections, cancer, and immunotherapy. The discussion explores why predicting T cell–antigen interactions remains difficult despite vast datasets and powerful AI tools. Hashem argues that progress requires more than better predictions—it demands clearer biological concepts, realistic expectations, and data designed to answer the right questions. He highlights the importance of cross-disciplinary collaboration and calls for AI to be used not just to generate results, but to reveal the underlying rules of immune recognition. Further reading: T Cell Recognition Community LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/15319051/ Hudson, D., Fernandes, R.A., Basham, M. et al. Can we predict T cell specificity with digital biology and machine learning? Nat Rev Immunol 23, 511–521 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41577-023-00835-3 McMaster, B., Thorpe, C., Ogg, G. et al. Can AlphaFold’s breakthrough in protein structure help decode the fundamental principles of adaptive cellular immunity? Nat Methods 21, 766–776 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-024-02240-7 Hashem’s website: https://www.immunointelligence.co.uk/ ImmSilico: https://www.immsilico.com/

    42 min

  3. FEB 4

    HIV in 2025 - the latest science, global burden and future outlook

    A conversation with Professor Andrew McMichael, Professor Tomáš Hanke, and Dr Fon Acho about current priorities in HIV treatment and prevention. In this episode of To Immunity and Beyond, we talk to HIV immunologist Professor Andrew McMichael, vaccinologist Professor Tomáš Hanke, and Dr Fon Acho, a Cameroonian doctor and Oxford MSc immunology graduate. We discuss the global burden of HIV, and the possibilities offered by current and future vaccines and treatments. We also explore challenges in research funding and the importance of community engagement in intervention uptake. Further reading: Chanda, Chama et al. ‘Safety and broad immunogenicity of HIVconsvX conserved mosaic candidate T-cell vaccines vectored by ChAdOx1 and MVA in HIV-CORE 006: a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled phase 1 trial in healthy adults living without HIV-1 in eastern and southern Africa’. The Lancet Microbe, Volume 6, Issue 6, 101041. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanmic.2024.101041 Haynes, Barton et al. ‘Strategies for HIV-1 vaccines that induce broadly neutralizing antibodies.’ Nat Rev Immunol. 2023 Mar;23(3):142-158. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41577-022-00753-w

    38 min

  4. 11/27/2025

    Sustained aviremia despite anti-retroviral therapy non-adherence in male children after in utero HIV transmission

    A conversation with Philip Goulder about the recent article ‘Sustained aviremia despite anti-retroviral therapy non-adherence in male children after in utero HIV transmission’. In this episode of To Immunity and Beyond, we discuss a prospective study of 284 children from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, who were treated very early with antiretroviral therapy (ART) after mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Unexpectedly, female fetuses were more susceptible to in utero transmission, but of 5 children identified who maintained undetectable levels of HIV despite unscheduled ART interruption, all were males. Distinct viruses were transmitted to males and females - females but not males being susceptible to type I interferon-resistant, low fitness viruses. These findings indicate the central role that early life innate immune sex differences play in HIV cure/remission in children. Full article: Bengu, N., Cromhout, G., Adland, E. et al. Sustained aviremia despite anti-retroviral therapy non-adherence in male children after in utero HIV transmission. Nat Med 30, 2796–2804 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03105-4

    37 min

  5. 10/20/2025

    Regulatory T cell therapy is associated with distinct immune regulatory lymphocytic infiltrates in kidney transplants

    A conversation with Fadi Issa about his recent article on regulatory T cell therapy in kidney transplants. In this episode of To Immunity and Beyond, Paul Klenerman talks with surgeon and immunologist Fadi Issa about pioneering regulatory T-cell therapy in kidney transplantation. Fadi shares his journey from reconstructive surgery to immune tolerance research and discusses the groundbreaking, first-in-human ONE Trial of T reg therapy in kidney transplantation. The trial showed promising graft survival rates, and found B cell-enriched focal lymphocytic infiltrates in the T reg treated group. Paul and Fadi also explore how current work with spatial transcriptomics will enable further insights into this mechanism. Full article: Oliver McCallion, Amy R. Cross, Matthew O. Brook, Conor Hennessy, Ricardo Ferreira, Dominik Trzupek, William R. Mulley, Sandeep Kumar, Maria Soares, Ian S. Roberts, Peter J. Friend, Giovanna Lombardi, Kathryn J. Wood, Paul N. Harden, Joanna Hester, Fadi Issa, Regulatory T cell therapy is associated with distinct immune regulatory lymphocytic infiltrates in kidney transplants, Med, Volume 6, Issue 5, 2025, 100561, ISSN 2666-6340, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medj.2024.11.014.

    26 min

  6. 09/11/2025

    Ebola virus persistence: implications for human-to-human transmission and new outbreaks

    A conversation with Miles Carroll and Oliver Meek about their recent Ebola virus persistence review article. In this episode, Oliver Meek and Miles Carroll discuss their recent review on Ebola virus (EBOV) persistence, set against the broader context of the West African epidemic. They share insights into how viral reservoirs form in immune-privileged sites and the immunological signatures linked to resistance. The conversation explores the implications of these findings on sexual transmission of EBOV, therapeutic development and strategies to prevent viral persistence and recrudescence. They also consider how these mechanisms may inform approaches to other emerging infectious diseases. Full article: Meek O, Fornace K, Carroll MW. Ebola virus persistence: implications for human-to-human transmission and new outbreaks. Explor Med. 2025;6:1001333. https://doi.org/10.37349/emed.2025.1001333 Further reading: Züst R, et al. Presence and Persistence of Andes Virus RNA in Human Semen. Viruses. 2023 Nov 17;15(11):2266. https://doi.org/10.3390/v15112266

    22 min

  7. 06/23/2025

    ‘Dangerous Matter’: A New Opera on Vaccine Science, Memory, and Innovation

    A conversation with Zakiya Leeming and Rachel Hindmarsh about the Thanks for the Memories project and a new opera. The Thanks for the Memories public engagement programme is about to premier a new opera, ‘Dangerous Matter’, at the Royal Northern College of Music on June 24th, 2025, inspired both by the story of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, and by research into immune memory. On this episode we talk to composer Zakiya Leeming and facilitator Rachel Hindmarsh about how they developed the opera, and find out about their wider creative programme of science and music engagement with secondary school students. The project would like to thank the Wellcome Trust, who have supported the project through an Enriching Engagement Grant. The project would also like to thank researchers at the University of Oxford and University of Manchester who have supported scientific engagement throughout the project. Further reading: · Project website: https://www.immunology.ox.ac.uk/about/public-engagement/thanks-for-the-memories-t4tm · Zakiya Leeming article on the process of writing the opera: https://oxfordroadcorridor.com/medicine-memory-and-the-music-of-defiance/ · Dawn, on the Morning after the Storm - collaboration between Zakiya and the International Severe and Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium (ISARIC) during Covid pandemic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0l3S04TfFY; Guardian article about the performance https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/jun/16/musical-composition-inspired-by-uk-covid-research-to-have-world-premiere · PRISM website https://www.rncm.ac.uk/research/research-activity/research-centres-rncm/prism/

    32 min

  8. 06/13/2025

    CMV serostatus is associated with improved survival and delayed toxicity onset following anti-PD-1 checkpoint blockade

    A conversation with Ben Fairfax about the recent article: CMV serostatus is associated with improved survival and delayed toxicity onset following anti-PD-1 checkpoint blockade. This episode discusses Milotay, G., Little, M., Watson, R.A. et al. CMV serostatus is associated with improved survival and delayed toxicity onset following anti-PD-1 checkpoint blockade. Nat Med (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-025-03647-1.

    35 min
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About

In a series produced by the Oxford Immunology Network, Professor Paul Klenerman talks with colleagues about their recent ground-breaking publications, exploring the original scientific goals, challenges they encountered along the way, and future ambitions in the field. This series will be of interest to anyone studying or working in immunology, medical sciences, biology or related fields. NB: To Immunity and Beyond is for educational purposes only and should not be considered professional medical advice.

Information

  • Creator
    Oxford University
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    15
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Oxford University
  • Show Website
    To Immunity and Beyond

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