Rachel Tanner is an immunologist working at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. She won the UK 'Women of the Future' Award for Science in 2019.

Research

Tanner researches

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

with a focus on

immune In biology, immunity is the state of being insusceptible or resistant to a noxious agent or process, especially a pathogen or infectious disease. Immunity may occur naturally or be produced by prior exposure or immunization. Innate and adaptive ...

correlates of protection and the host immune response to TB

vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...

. She has worked extensively on ''

in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning ''in glass'', or ''in the glass'') Research, studies are performed with Cell (biology), cells or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in ...

'' functional assays for vaccine testing to reduce the number of animals used in 'challenge' or infection experiments, and has led an NC3Rs funded project to transfer one such assay internationally. Her research interests also include the specific and non-specific effects of the

BCG vaccine The Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine is a vaccine primarily used against tuberculosis (TB). It is named after its inventors Albert Calmette and Camille Guérin. In countries where tuberculosis or leprosy is common, one dose is recom ...

across different populations, and development of a vaccine against

Mycobacterium bovis ''Mycobacterium bovis'' is a slow-growing (16- to 20-hour generation time) Aerobic organism, aerobic bacterium and the causative agent of tuberculosis in cattle (known as bovine TB). It is related to ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'', the bacterium ...

in cattle. Initial research was on

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

vaccines with the Centre for HIV-AIDS Vaccine Immunology (CHAVI) at the

Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine The MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine at the University of Oxford is a research institute located at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. Founded in 1989 by Sir David Weatherall, the institute focuses on furthering our understan ...

, but since her work has moved to TB. From 2010-2022, Tanner worked at the

Jenner Institute The Jenner Institute is a research institute on the Old Road Campus in Headington, east Oxford, England. It was formed in November 2005 through a partnership between the University of Oxford and the UK Institute for Animal Health. It is as ...

, during which she received a VALIDATE Fellowship. She is now an

Associate Professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

One Health One Health is an approach calling for "the collaborative efforts of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally, to attain optimal health for people, animals and our environment", as defined by the One Health Initiative Task Fo ...

at the Department of Biology. In 2020, Tanner was part of the Oxford

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

Vaccine Trial Group which developed and tested the safety and efficacy of the

ChAdOx1 ChAdOx1 is an adenoviral vector for vaccines that was developed by the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford. The vector is a chimpanzee adenovirus modified to avoid its replication. Adenoviruses are effective vectors for inducing and boosting ...

nCoV-19 vaccine ( AZD1222) against

SARS-CoV-2 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the respiratory illness responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had the Novel coronavirus, provisional nam ...

. She appeared working on this vaccine in the documentary film Life in a Day 2020, which was directed by Kevin MacDonald and premiered at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

Awards

* AAALAC International Global 3Rs Award 2021 *

Divisional Teaching Excellence Award 2021
Life Sciences Editors
JEDI (Justice, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) Award 2021
Women of the Future
Award for Science 2019
Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative
Young Scientist Award 2017

Career

Tanner was awarded a BA (Hons) in Biological Sciences from

Wadham College Wadham College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy Wadham, a ...

and a

DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in Clinical Medicine from

St Cross College St Cross College, known colloquially as StX, is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1965, St Cross is a graduate college with gothic and traditional-style buildings on ...

, both at the

. She was funded in the latter by the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW). She was a Fulford Junior Research Fellow of

Somerville College Somerville College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. It began admitting men in 1994. The college's liberal tone derives from its f ...

from 2017 to 2019, a

Lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

in Human Sciences at

from 2017 to 2022, and a

Research Fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a p ...

at Wolfson College. Tanner is currently an

at the Department of Biology and a Tutorial Fellow at

St Hugh's College St Hugh's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It is located on a site on St Margaret's Road, to the north of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 by Elizabeth Wordsworth as a ...

Publications

Tanner has co-authored over 60

peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

publications.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanner, Rachel 1984 births Women immunologists Academics of the University of Oxford Fellows of Somerville College, Oxford Living people Fellows of Wadham College, Oxford Alumni of St Cross College, Oxford 21st-century British women scientists British immunologists Scientists from London