Dame Sarah Catherine GilbertDBEFRS (born April 1962) is an English
vaccinologist who is a Professor of Vaccinology at the
University of Oxford and co-founder of
Vaccitech.[2][3][4][5][6] She specialises in the development of vaccines against
influenza and emerging viral pathogens.[7] She led the development and testing of the
universal flu vaccine, which underwent clinical trials in 2011.
In January 2020, she read a report on
ProMED-mail about four people in
China suffering from a strange kind of
pneumonia of unknown origin in
Wuhan.[8] Within two weeks, a vaccine had been designed at Oxford against the new pathogen, which later became known as
COVID-19.[9] On 30 December 2020, the
Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine she co-developed with the
Oxford Vaccine Group was approved for use in the UK.[10] As of January 2022, more than 2.5 billion doses of the vaccine have been released to more than 170 countries worldwide.[11]
She was made Professor at the
Jenner Institute in 2010. With the support of the
Wellcome Trust, Gilbert started work on the design and creation of novel
influenza 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 a
T cell response, which can be used against viral diseases, malaria and cancer.[19]
Gilbert was involved with the development and testing of the
universal flu vaccine. Unlike conventional vaccinations, the
universal 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 the
Influenza 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 a
seasonal flu vaccine. Her first clinical trials, which were in 2008, made use of the
Influenza 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 the
adenoviral vector ChAdOx1 can be used to make vaccinations that are protective against
Middle 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 against
Nipah which was effective in hamsters (but never proven in humans),[26] in addition to a potential vaccine for
Rift 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 against
coronavirus since the beginning of the
COVID-19 pandemic.[28][29][30][2] She leads the work on this vaccine candidate alongside
Andrew Pollard,
Teresa Lambe, Sandy Douglas,
Catherine Green and
Adrian Hill.[31] As with her earlier work, the
COVID-19 vaccine makes use of an
adenoviral 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 by
Andrew Marr on
BBC 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 the
Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.[37] Gilbert delivered an update in September 2020 that the vaccine,
AZD1222, was being produced by
AstraZeneca while phase III trials were ongoing.[38] Because of her vaccine research, Gilbert featured on The Times' 'Science Power List' in May 2020.[39]
In 2021, Gilbert and Catherine Green published Vaxxers: the inside story of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine and the race against the virus.[40][41]
Recognition
Gilbert was the subject of
BBC Radio 4's The Life Scientific in September 2020.[42] She was also on the list of the BBC's
100 Women announced on 23 November 2020,[43] and became a senior associated research fellow at
Christ Church, Oxford.[44] Gilbert was awarded the
Rosalind Franklin medal for her services to science by
Humanists 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 the
Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.[46]
In June 2021, Gilbert received a standing ovation at the
2021 Wimbledon Championships.[47] In 2021, as a role model (Barbie Shero), Sarah Gilbert had a
Barbie doll made in her honour by the toy manufacturer
Mattel.[48][49]
Gilbert gave birth to triplets in 1998. Her partner gave up his career to be their
primary 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)