London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Two new Co-Directors have been appointed for the Vaccine Centre at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). Associate Professor Dr Julius Hafalla  and Clinical Associate Professor Dr Muhammed Afolabi  will work together with Associate Professor Edward Parker who has been co-leading the Centre since 2023.

The new Co-Directors will take over from Associate Professor Tracey Chantler and Professor Brendan Wren, who have led the Vaccine Centre as Co-Directors for the past years, highlighting the breadth of vaccine research conducted by members of the Centre, expanding Centre activities and fostering collaborations to enhance the active research environment of the Centre both internally and externally.

Dr Hafalla initially joined LSHTM as a Royal Society Incoming Fellow, and later as a Wellcome Visiting Fellow and Royal Society University Research Fellow, to investigate cellular immune responses to pre-erythrocytic and blood-stage malaria. Since 2015, he has facilitated LSHTM’s external partnerships with institutions in the Philippines and other countries in South-East Asia. His current projects focus on characterising immunological memory to malaria in the Philippines; developing platforms for monitoring malaria, dengue, arboviruses, vaccine-preventable diseases and other priority pathogens in the Philippines; and assessing the impact of combining a malaria vaccine with perennial chemoprevention on naturally acquired immunity to malaria in Ghana.

Dr Hafalla said: “I’m excited to further build the excellent work of the Vaccine Centre and to collaborate with Muhammed and Ed in building a vibrant and supportive network for vaccine researchers at LSHTM and across our global partnerships.”

Dr. Afolabi’s career is dedicated to vaccine research in critical global health contexts. He joined LSHTM in 2016, leading the paediatric components of an Ebola vaccine trial in Sierra Leone. Prior to this, he was based at the MRC Unit, The Gambia, where his research centred on evaluating vaccines for HIV and malaria.

Currently, Dr. Afolabi holds a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship, addressing the complex and novel health challenges arising from malaria and helminth co-infections in children across West Africa.

Looking ahead, Dr. Afolabi stated his commitment to expanding the influence and collaborative networks of the LSHTM Vaccine Centre. “I am eager to broaden the Centre's reach,” he said, “with a particular focus on showcasing the extraordinary research conducted at the MRC Units in The Gambia and Uganda, as well as at other overseas-based sites.”