The NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Vaccines and Immunisation is a partnership of scientists from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UKHSA, University College London, and University of Cambridge. Our research aims to reverse the decline in immunisation coverage in children, increase vaccine uptake in adults and reduce inequalities in the vaccine service.
The HPRU in Vaccines and Immunisation looks at the effectiveness and safety of vaccines, how many people are being vaccinated, disease trends, and the impact of introducing new vaccines. We also look at what people think about vaccines and how we can make it easier for people to access vaccinations.
Partnership
The NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Vaccines and Immunisation is a partnership between the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, in collaboration with the University of Cambridge and University College London.
HPRUs
Our unit is one of 13 Health Protection Research Units (HPRUs) across England, part of an investment by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to protect the health of the nation. The HPRUs fund high quality research that enhances the ability of UKHSA to use innovative techniques to protect the public’s health and minimise the health impact of emergencies, such as COVID-19.
Each NIHR HPRU undertakes high quality research that is used by UKHSA to keep the public safe from current and emerging public health threats.
The NIHR HPRUs focus on collaboration and knowledge sharing, and play a pivotal role in maintaining and growing UKHSA’s scientific expertise and future workforce. The multidisciplinary centres of excellence also deliver responsive research to tackle emerging or potential public health emergencies.
NIHR
The NIHR's mission is to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research. The NIHR was established in 2006 and is primarily funded by the Department of Health and Social Care.
Working in partnership with the NHS, universities, local government, other research funders, patients and the public, the NIHR delivers and enables world-class research that transforms people’s lives, promotes economic growth and advances science.
| Name | Institution | Role | Primary theme |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Scott | LSHTM | Unit Director | All themes |
| Gayatri Amirthalingam | UKHSA | Unit Lead, UKHSA | All themes |
| Julie Yates | UKHSA | Theme Lead | Improving Vaccine Coverage Across the Life Course |
| Tracey Chantler | LSHTM | Theme Co-Lead | Improving Vaccine Coverage Across the Life Course |
| Nick Andrews | UKHSA | Theme Lead | Making Better Use of Data |
| Helen Bedford | UCL/LSHTM | Theme Co-Lead | Making Better Use of Data |
| Ed Parker | LSHTM | Theme Co-Lead | Making Better Use of Data |
| Caroline Trotter | Cambridge | Theme Lead | Accelerating New Vaccine Introduction and Streamlining Schedules |
| Andre Charlett | UKHSA | Theme Co-Lead | Accelerating New Vaccine Introduction and Streamlining Schedules |
| Nick Davies | LSHTM | Theme Lead | Resilience, Response, and Pandemic Preparedness |
| Caroline Minassian | LSHTM | Theme Co-Lead | Improving Vaccine Coverage Across the Life Course |
| Chisomo Mutafya | LSHTM | PhD student | |
| Chu-Chang Ku | LSHTM | Research Fellow | Accelerating New Vaccine Introduction & Streamlining Schedules |
| David Etoori | LSHTM | Research Fellow | |
| Helen Campbell | UKHSA | ||
| Ian Douglas | LSHTM | Making Better Use of Data | |
| Julia Stowe | UKHSA | Making Better Use of Data | |
| Liz Miller | LSHTM | ||
| Louise Letley | UKHSA | ||
| Matt Wilson | UKHSA | ||
| Ray Borrow | UKHSA | Resilience, Response, and Pandemic Preparedness | |
| Joseph Peacock | LSHTM | PhD student | |
| Jemma Walker | UKHSA | ||
| David Goldblatt | UCL | ||
| Georgia Chisnall | LSHTM | Research Fellow | |
| Bassam Hallis | UKHSA | Theme Co-Lead | Resilience, Response, and Pandemic Preparedness |
| Andrew Earnshaw | UKHSA | Accelerating New Vaccine Introduction & Streamlining Schedules | |
| Andromachi Karachaliou | Cambridge | Accelerating New Vaccine Introduction & Streamlining Schedules | |
| Lee White | LSHTM | Project Manager | All themes |
| Steven Saunders | LSHTM | Project Administrator | All themes |
| Rebecca Cordery | UKHSA | ||
| Sadie Bell | LSHTM | ||
| Salma Ghazal | LSHTM | PhD student | |
| Samara Williams | LSHTM | PhD student | |
| Sandra Mounier-Jack | LSHTM | Improving Vaccine Coverage Across the Life Course | |
| Sharif Ismail | UKHSA | ||
| Vanessa Saliba | UKHSA | Knowledge Mobilisation Lead | All themes |
| Yoon Choi | UKHSA | Streamlining Schedules |
- Theme 1 - Improving vaccine coverage across the life course
We will explore how accurate UK coverage estimates are through triangulation of data from UKHSA, NHSE and primary care datasets, and examine how poor coverage is distributed across society. We will investigate whether poor coverage can be attributed to pressures on health care staff in dealing with pregnant mothers or older persons; or to social attitudes of different sub-groups, for example, among men who have care for children, or among adolescents seeking information on immunisation, or among parents and practice nurses faced with a change in the childhood immunisation schedule. We aim to reverse low coverage in all these situations through co-development of interventions or by evaluating tailored local solutions to vaccine delivery.
- Theme 2 - Making better use of data
New data opportunities abound within the NHS and across society. We will innovate in the integration of diverse data sources on coverage, disease surveillance, serological surveillance, delivery patterns and costs to identify those in risk groups for vaccine preventable diseases and to improve safety surveillance systems for maternal immunisation. We will use electronic health record data to improve the estimation of vaccine effectiveness using novel trial emulation techniques and adjusting for confounding by health seeking behaviour. We will evaluate the quality of data recording and reporting for vaccine coverage and will support NHS England to create an electronic Personal Child Health Record through research on feasibility and acceptability.
- Theme 3 - Accelerating new vaccine introduction and streamlining schedules
We will continue responsive modelling of new vaccines, as we have recently to guide JCVI on COVID, RSV and shingles, and in streamlining schedules, as we have for meningococcal vaccines. Using EHR research, we will define the burden of diseases for which new vaccines are on the horizon (e.g. recurrent UTIs, Group A Streptococcus) and estimate their likely cost-effectiveness, incorporating benefits in prevention of AMR. We will incorporate seroepidemiological surveillance data into mathematical models of diseases where vaccines have complex indirect effects (Pneumococcus, Varicella-Zoster Virus). We will also conduct a comprehensive review of the entire immunisation schedule to create a framework for simplification and optimisation and make the case for combination vaccines.
- Theme 4 - Resilience, response and pandemic preparedness
We will enhance resilience of the UK immunisation system and facilitate rapid responses to emerging infectious threats by strengthening surveillance systems and vaccine delivery and by specific anticipation of new threats. For example, we will convene a cross-HPRU collaboration to generate recurrent horizon scanning for potential pandemic threats; we will estimate population immunity, post-COVID, to novel coronavirus threats; we will review and revise the smallpox outbreak vaccine response plan and work with CEPI to integrate vaccine development timelines and social tolerability of social restrictions in pandemic management.
At the HPRU in Vaccines & Immunisation we have developed and refined our PCIEP aims as of February 2026:
Our approach to Public and Community Involvement, Engagement and Participation (PCIEP) is guided by the principle that research excellence is enhanced when the voices of diverse communities are meaningfully integrated throughout the research process.
We are committed to fostering inclusive engagement practices that address health inequities, broaden accessibility, empower young people, and strengthen public participation in complex research domains.
Through systematic evaluation and continuous improvement, we aim to ensure that our PCIEP activities not only inform and enrich our scientific outputs, but also contribute to the development of more just and responsive public health systems. To realise these aims, we have identified five key priorities that will guide our PCIEP activities: tackling inequity in health outcomes, improving accessibility, fostering and developing young people, augmenting public participation, and auditing our performance.
1. Tackle inequity in health outcomes Tackling inequity is threaded through all our HPRU activities. In PCIEP, we will ensure that our public panel comprises individuals who represent the diversity of society with respect to sociodemographic groups, vulnerable individuals, and those likely to experience access problems.
2. Make our PCIEP activities more accessible We will diversify our channels for encountering the public. We will advertise our activities through patient groups, charities, and community action groups such as HealthWatch, and report all meetings on our website and via our newsletter. We will expand our channels from in-person and online meetings to social media outlets, including LinkedIn and YouTube. We will co-produce accessible communication materials for targeted audiences (e.g., high risk groups) and ensure our in-person meetings are accessible.
3. Foster and develop young people Among our scientists and public panel, we will give opportunities to younger members and provide mentorship to lead PCIEP activities. We will encourage young people to represent the views of the public at our Strategic Advisory Board.
4. Augment public participation Our aim to is to increase public engagement with innovative methods. One of our studies will involve the public in the design and execution of Discrete Choice Experiments (DCE). We will continue to find unique opportunities to include and engage the public in our research, including a DCE on public values of lockdown durations required to develop pandemic vaccines.
5. Evaluate our performance We will collaborate with our public panel, and other interested HPRUs, to examine the impact of PCIEP on our research and communicate this in a peer reviewed manuscript.
If you would like to know more or if you have any questions, please contact [email protected].
The ethos of our HPRU is to promote learning and facilitate the career progression of all who contribute to our research programme, which includes PhD award holders, HPRU staff and other trainees. Our main goals for the duration of our grant are to:
- strengthen the capacity of our dynamic multi-disciplinary team to ensure that we are equipped to address current and future public health and immunisation research priorities,
- engage proactively with the NIHR research infrastructure to nurture mutually beneficial research collaboration and learning partnerships with other HPRUs, ARCs and BRCs, and
- consolidate our contribution to the training of Public Health and General Practice registrars and students engaged in post-graduate public health related courses.
To achieve these goals, we will build on our existing internal HPRU and broader institutional teaching and learning capacity and seek to access additional training support through the NIHR Academy and the broader NIHR research infrastructure.
Academic Career Development in NIHR Infrastructure and NIHR Schools
Strategy
Group 1: PhD degree award holders
This group consists of PhD students, whose degree is funded by the HPRU and who have a training plan with a defined end date.
Ambitions
- Provide world class doctoral training for the next cohort of public health research leaders
Group 2: HPRU Staff
This group consists of early-mid career researchers, senior investigators, and project management staff. All staff can access internal training programmes and are encouraged to complete training in teaching and doctoral supervision.
Ambitions
- Enhance the expertise of our existing multi-disciplinary research and project management team by signposting them to NIHR and other funding, fellowship and training opportunities suited to their stage on the academic/research or project management career pathway.
- Give early-mid career researchers increased responsibility for designing, implementing and managing studies guided by theme leads
Group 3: Other trainees
This group consists of Public Health (PH), General Practice (GP) registrar trainees and LSHTM MSc students. We aim to facilitate placements and short-term research projects for these trainees. We also extend invitations to our public engagement events, such as our Annual Science Day, to all trainees within our network, so that they are provided with opportunities for gaining familiarity with HPRU research, networking, and presenting research project findings.
Ambitions
- Facilitate short-term placements (defined contributions to research projects and co-authorship on manuscripts) for Public Health and General Practice trainees through: i) existing collaborations with UKHSA and NHS England immunisation teams and, ii) making connections with public health registrar training co-ordinators in London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex
- A public-health consultant member of the HPRU (Helen McDonald) will train as a Faculty of Public Health supervisor for public health registrars.
- Accommodate short-term dissertation related research opportunities (approx. 6-10 weeks) for LSHTM MSc students via the LSHTM Vaccine Centre and its Student liaison committee.
Objectives
We have generic and group specific objectives. Our generic objectives focus on ensuring that information about training and career development opportunities are shared widely, strengthening and establishing research, and training collaborations across the NIHR infrastructure. Core objectives for PhD award holders are to ensure that they receive the support and guidance they need to complete their theses and plan their next career moves. Key to this will be encouraging them towards opportunities afforded through their NIHR Academy membership. The essence of the objectives for HPRU Staff is to signpost all staff to career stage appropriate training and development opportunities and identify those who would benefit from NIHR Academy membership to help them apply for fellowships or similar awards. The objectives for other trainees focus on ensuring that our HPRU is an outward facing resource which supports the development of non-HPRU public health researchers though training and research placements.
Pathways to Impact
- Regularly updated career development resources. HPRU team members contributing to NIHR facilitated research networks and involved in collaborative training and research activities.
- Completion of 6 PhDs resulting in new researchers moving into roles that will make a difference to public health and starting their journeys to become future research leaders.
- HPRU staff benefitting from general NIHR and NIHR Academy specific training and funding opportunities
- Facilitation of PH & GP registrar trainee placements
- Opportunities for MSc students to conduct immunisation related projects.
Collaboration
We are keen to strengthen existing and establish new research and training collaborations with HPRUs, ARCs and BRCs across the NIHR infrastructure. We also want to increase our support and engagement with Public Health and General Practice Training programmes.
Training Opportunities
- Public Involvement Training
- UCL Hospitals Patient & Public Involvement Training Courses
- LSHTM Public Engagement
Contact
The Academic Career Development Lead for the HPRU in Immunisation are Tracey Chantler. Please get in touch with her for more information.
The HPRU is deeply committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. In line with the NIHR Research Inclusion Strategy 2022-27 and the LSHTM Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy 2024-26, we strive to improve inclusion within our workforce, our advisory group, and amongst our research participants.
Our vision is to create a research environment in which everyone, including participants and researchers, feels valued and empowered and is able to reach their full potential. With a focus on including under-served groups and under-represented research sites, our research strives to promote equity across the life-course by mapping and addressing inequalities in uptake and barriers to vaccination across programmes.
To achieve our vision, we will focus on:
- Conducting research responsive to the intersectional nature of health inequalities.
- Widening access and participation in our research, to promote greater diversity and inclusion.
- Collaborating with and appropriately acknowledging the contribution of non-academic partners (i.e. public and voluntary/community sector) in our research.
- Fostering an inclusive workforce, which provides equality of opportunity regarding professional development.
- Ensuring the accountability of our RI strategy.
The Research Inclusion lead for the HPRU in Vaccines & Immunisation is Sadie Bell. Please get in touch with her for more information via [email protected].