Dr Zakia Alhareth, Calleva Senior Postdoctoral Associate at theJenner Institute, has been awarded a Main Award from the John Fell Fund to support her research on next-generation malaria vaccines. Dr Alhareth is associated with Magdalen College’s Calleva Research Centre.
The John Fell Fund is intended to foster creativity and a proactive approach to research opportunities in all subject areas, particularly interdisciplinary fields.
Dr Alhareth received the £51,000 award for her project “Dissecting the role of cellular localisation of circumsporozoite protein (CSP) in mRNA malaria vaccines”.
The success of the R21/Matrix-M vaccine, demonstrating 75–80% efficacy, has opened the way for the development of next-generation vaccine platforms. This project will build on that progress by exploring how the cellular localisation of vaccine antigens influences immune responses when delivered via mRNA technology.
“This project will allow us to better understand how antigen design at the cellular level shapes immune responses in mRNA vaccines,” said Dr Alhareth. “These insights are critical for developing more effective and durable malaria vaccines.
I am deeply grateful for the support of the Calleva Foundation
dr alhareth
“I am deeply grateful for the support of the Calleva Foundation, whose funding has been instrumental in enabling me to continue pursuing my scientific career.
“I also sincerely thank the John Fell Fund, the Nuffield Department of Medicine, my supervisor Professor Sir Adrian Hill, and the mRNA Technology Programme led by Dr César López-Camacho at the Jenner Institute for their continued support.”
Congratulates to Dr Alhareth on this achievement. We look forward to following the progress of her research.