Research

Mucosal pathogens causing pneumonia, meningitis, and neonatal sepsis account for more than 2 million deaths each year globally and are associated with substantial disability. We are partnering with more than 25 senior investigators across the UK, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Malawi, South Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Senegal and Uganda to improve prevention of life-threatening disease from mucosal pathogens.

Research Objectives

Improved disease intelligence: targeted surveillance of mucosal pathogens incorporating new molecular epidemiology, mathematical modelling, and diagnostic tools to support vaccine evaluation, uptake, and safety monitoring.
Testing interventions: develop novel trial designs and feasibility studies of vaccines and other interventions as a prelude to large-scale trials.
New measures of immunity: novel approaches to measuring protective immunity to determine how best to use new and existing vaccines; determine how other non-vaccine interventions, such as harmless commensal bacteria will impact on disease.
Public engagement: encourage a two-way dialogue with policymakers and the public, ensuring that MPRU research is grounded in the experiences and needs of the people.

Other projects

In addition to primary research projects, MPRU collaborates with and funds public engagement efforts. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, MPRU also works with and funds efforts aimed at informing public health policy and epidemic preparedness.

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Research

Projects we are working on:

Improved disease intelligence

Blood testing to enhance case ascertainment during meningococcal meningitis outbreaks in the African meningitis belt (BloTIMA)

Classification of respiratory infections: a microbiome approach

Duration and density of natural pneumococcal colonisation in Malawian adults (PneumoDuDe)

Genetic characterization of Group B Streptococcus colonizing and invasive disease isolates in South Africa

Measuring and modelling social contact and transmission risk in Nigeria (The Nigeria Social Contact Study)

Prevalence of co-colonization of multiple Group B Streptococcus serotypes in pregnant women and its association with vaginal microbiome

Molecular epidemiology of Group B Streptococcus (GBS) carriage

Molecular evaluation of the association of the vaginal microbiome and adverse pregnancy outcomes in South Africa

Spatiotemporal dynamics of pneumococcal carriage in Blantyre, Malawi

Testing interventions

An evaluation of the impact of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) programme on invasive pneumococcal disease in Nigeria by using serial carriage studies and mathematical modelling

Assessing the potential of reduced dose immunisation strategies for pneumococcal conjugate use in Africa

Carriage prevalence and antibody functionality after full and fractional doses of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13 and PCV10) in a 2 prime plus boost schedule compared to a control arm of a 3 primary dose series in Kenyan infants

Controlled human infection model with lyophilised N. lactamica

Effect of long-term azithromycin on antimicrobial resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus colonizing HIV-infected children with chronic lung disease

Nasal inoculation of Neisseria lactamica to inhibit carriage of Neisseria meningitidis by adults in Mali

The effects of full/ fractional doses of PCV on mucosal immunology and the nasopharyngeal microbiome

New measures of immunity

Analysis of commonalities across mucosal pathogens [Early Career Investigator Project]

Identifying cross-protective immune responses between Streptococcus pneumoniae and Group B Streptococcus [Early Career Investigator Project]

Other projects

Public Engagement

COVID-19