Vaccine Immunology

Using immunology to identify improved vaccination strategies in children living in high-risk settings.

The Vaccine Immunology group conducts research to better understand the human immune response to childhood vaccines and infections.

Our work focuses on identifying the most effective vaccination strategies in high‑risk and resource‑limited settings, with the aim of improving vaccine access for children and reducing the global burden of preventable diseases.

Our expertise

We specialise in understanding immune responses to major childhood vaccines and pathogens, including:

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs)
Human papillomavirus vaccines (HPV)
COVID‑19 vaccines
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections

These vaccines remain costly and difficult to access in many low‑resource regions.

Our research explores how these vaccines can be used most effectively to protect vulnerable children, including those born preterm, children with malnutrition, immunocompromised populations, and children living in high disease‑burden environments.

Leadership

Our group is led by Associate Professor Paul Licciardi who has more than 15 years of experience in examining immune responses in children (and adults) using sophisticated immunological approaches as part of large clinical trials.

Our research priorities

We aim to answer key questions that support improved vaccine programs worldwide:

Optimising vaccination schedules: Identifying dosing schedules and strategies that maximise protection in high‑risk populations.
Understanding duration of protection: Assessing how long immunity lasts after vaccination and infection to inform booster policies.
Identifyingcorrelates of protection: Using immunological markers to predict whether a vaccine provides effective protection.
Discovering biomarkers of severe disease: Understanding why some children develop more severe infections and how vaccines can mitigate this risk.