MRC Funding to Establish Research Consortia to Underpin Proactive Vaccinology

Funding for research carried out by consortia to tackle questions surrounding the nature and drivers of pathogen evolution and immune responses to vaccination.

The Funding to Establish Research Consortia to Underpin Proactive Vaccinology scheme is led by the Medical Research Council (MRC) in partnership with the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). Consortia are sought to tackle questions surrounding the nature and drivers of pathogen evolution and immune responses to vaccination. It is hoped that more knowledge in this area will help to overcome the barriers to development of next-generation vaccines with broader, more durable and, optimally, transmission-blocking efficacy.

At least two consortia will be supported for up to five years. Applications must be coordinated and multidisciplinary, with strong links to public health infrastructure, other UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) investments, industry partners and vaccine development resources.

Comsortia will each focus on one of two complementary themes and are each expected to deliver a coordinated portfolio of innovative discovery research, aligned to an ambitious vision and a robust, clearly articulated governance structure. The call themes are:

• Fundamental virology – drivers and impact of variant emergence:
  • Mechanisms underpinning changes in disease transmission and immune escape.
  • Predicting disease severity from virus mutation profiles.
  • Understanding mutation accumulation in targeted immunosuppressed groups to predict evolution.
  • Assessing viral antigen stability and functionality.
• Underpinning immunology to support vaccinology:
  • Understanding the drivers of sustained and broad immunity.
  • Targeting mucosal responses.
  • Improving the breadth of protective immunological responses.
  • Development of reliable correlates of protection to support early vaccine development.
  • Building understanding of the mechanisms of partial or failed vaccine responses in vulnerable patient groups.

Across both consortia, the longer term aim is to:

• Enable next-generation pan-coronavirus vaccines.
• Establish networks of virologists and immunologists with capacity and tools to rapidly investigate emergent pathogens.
• Build strong, bidirectional links with vaccine, therapeutic and diagnostic developers.

It is expected that the consortia will initially focus on SARS-CoV-2, levering the substantial investment and remaining public health need around COVID-19, with a clear pathway to diversify their focus in the longer term to addressing a broader range of other important pathogens.

Although applications should focus on one of the two themes, it is acknowledged that there may be overlapping areas of interest. In particular, a virology consortium may appropriately include a substantial immunology component (eg evaluating the impact of host immune responses on viral evolution). In contrast, an immunology consortium should focus instead on the underpinning immunology of responses to vaccination and infection, seeking to elucidate fundamental immunological pathways within the host.