Dame Sarah Catherine GilbertDBEFRS (born April 1962) is an Englishvaccinologist who is a Professor of Vaccinology at theUniversity of Oxford and co-founder ofVaccitech.[2][3][4][5][6] She specialises in the development of vaccines againstinfluenza and emerging viral pathogens.[7] She led the development and testing of theuniversal flu vaccine, which underwent clinical trials in 2011.
In January 2020, she read a report onProMED-mail about four people inChina suffering from a strange kind ofpneumonia of unknown origin inWuhan.[8] Within two weeks, a vaccine had been designed at Oxford against the new pathogen, which later became known asCOVID-19.[9] On 30 December 2020, theOxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine she co-developed with theOxford Vaccine Group was approved for use in the UK.[10] More than 3billion doses of the vaccine were supplied to countries worldwide.[11]
She was made Professor at theJenner Institute in 2010. With the support of theWellcome Trust, Gilbert started work on the design and creation of novelinfluenza vaccinations.[14] In particular, her research considers the development and preclinical testing of viral vaccinations, which embed a pathogenic protein inside a safe virus.[19][20] These viral vaccinations induce aT cell response, which can be used against viral diseases, malaria and cancer.[19]
Graphical representation of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), created by theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, which reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses.
Gilbert was involved with the development and testing of theuniversal flu vaccine. Unlike conventional vaccinations, theuniversal flu vaccine did not stimulate the production of antibodies, but instead triggers the immune system to create T cells that are specific for influenza.[21] It makes use of one of the core proteins (nucleoprotein and matrix protein 1) inside theInfluenza A virus, not the external proteins that exist on the outside coat.[22]
As the immune system weakens with age, conventional vaccinations are not effective for elderly. The universal flu vaccine does not need to be reformatted every year and stops people from needing aseasonal flu vaccine. Her first clinical trials, which were in 2008, made use of theInfluenza A virus subtype H3N2, and included daily monitoring of the patient's symptoms.[22][23] It was the first study that it was possible to stimulate T cells in response to a flu virus, and that this stimulation would protect people from getting the flu.[22] Her research has demonstrated that theadenoviral vector ChAdOx1 can be used to make vaccinations that are protective againstMiddle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in mice and able to induce immune response against MERS in humans.[24][25] The same vector was also used to create a vaccine againstNipah which was effective in hamsters (but never proven in humans),[26] in addition to a potential vaccine forRift Valley Fever that was protective in sheep, goats, and cattle (but not proven in humans).[27]
Gilbert has been involved with the development of a new vaccination to protect againstcoronavirus since the beginning of theCOVID-19 pandemic.[28][29][30][2] She leads the work on this vaccine candidate alongsideAndrew Pollard,Teresa Lambe, Sandy Douglas,Catherine Green andAdrian Hill.[31] As with her earlier work, theCOVID-19 vaccine makes use of anadenoviral vector, which stimulates an immune response against the coronavirus spike protein.[28][29] Plans were announced to start animal studies in March 2020, and recruitment began of 510 human participants for a phase I/II trial on 27 March.[32][33][34]
In April 2020, Gilbert was interviewed about the developments byAndrew Marr onBBC television.[35] That same month, Gilbert was reported as saying that her candidate vaccine could be available by September 2020,[36] if everything goes to plan with the clinical trial, which has received funding from sources such as theCoalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.[37] Gilbert delivered an update in September 2020 that the vaccine,AZD1222, was being produced byAstraZeneca while phase III trials were ongoing.[38] Because of her vaccine research, Gilbert featured onThe Times' 'Science Power List' in May 2020.[39]
In 2021, Gilbert and Catherine Green publishedVaxxers: the inside story of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine and the race against the virus.[40][41]
Gilbert was the subject ofBBC Radio 4'sThe Life Scientific in September 2020.[42] She was also on the list of the BBC's100 Women announced on 23 November 2020,[43] and became a senior associated research fellow atChrist Church, Oxford.[44] Gilbert was awarded theRosalind Franklin medal for her services to science byHumanists UK at its annual Rosalind Franklin Lecture on 5 March 2021,[45] at which she delivered a lecture titled ‘Racing against the virus’. The lecture detailed the history of the science of vaccination and recounted the progress of theOxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.[46]
In June 2021, Gilbert received a standing ovation at the2021 Wimbledon Championships.[47] In 2021, as a role model (Barbie Shero), Sarah Gilbert had aBarbie doll made in her honour by the toy manufacturerMattel.[48][49]
Gilbert gave birth to triplets in 1998. Her partner gave up his career to be theirprimary parent.[14] As of 2020[update], all of the triplets are studying biochemistry at university.[12]
Gilbert, Sarah; Green, Catherine (2021).Vaxxers: the inside story of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine and the race against the virus. London: Hodder & Stoughton.ISBN9781529369854.
^Gilbert, Sarah; Green, Catherine (2021).Vaxxers : the inside story of the Oxford vaccine and the race against the virus. London.ISBN978-1529369854.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
