I am one of the VaxHub Sustainable Co- Investigators and a Professor of Molecular Virology at the University of Leeds. My research concerns virology and RNA biology, applying novel approaches to the study of virus replication and assembly. Within VaxHub Sustainable, my focus is on the generation and characterisation of virus-like particles (VLPs).
Nicola Stonehouse
Research interests and projects
I studied Biological Sciences (Genetics) at the University of East Anglia, followed by a PhD in Dental Enamel Development in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Leeds. I moved to the Department of Genetics for post-doctoral studies, applying skills in protein purification and transmission electron microscopy to the study of bacteriophage, working with Peter Stockley. An interest in perusing high-resolution structural studies of RNA-protein complexes led to a long-term collaboration with Lars Liljas’ group in Uppsala, Sweden and ultimately led to the award of a Career Development Fellowship from the Medical Research Council (MRC). Over time, I moved from working on bacteriophage to picornaviruses and was appointed as Lecturer in 2001 and to Chair of Molecular Virology in 2014.
I teach at all levels and have undertaken a number of roles that aimed to support more junior scientists e.g. faculty postgraduate research tutor, chair of University examinations group for research degrees and the University’s committee on applications, hearing appeal and malpractice cases. I undertake public engagement events in the UK and overseas and am a member of Inspiring the Future. As a Mercator Fellow, I support the VISION PhD training programme in Hamburg/Lübeck Mercator Fellows – VISION.
I have acted as a member of grant review/interview panels for the MRC, Wellcome, Wolfson and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). I am a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (FRSB), and the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce (FRSA) and the Higher Education Academy, and was elected to join the Council of the Microbiology Society in 2016.
My research is both fundamental and applied. Projects involve interdisciplinary teams and I have expertise both leading and collaborating within consortia involving academia and industry. My current projects concern understanding the fundamental aspects of picornavirus capsid maturation, funded by National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA; development of virus-like particle vaccines for polio and related viruses, funded by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Innovate UK and understanding picornaviral replication funded by UK BBSRC. I have a long standing and very valued collaboration with Professor Dave Rowlands at the University of Leeds.
Meet the team
I will be working with Emma Wroblewski who is a Post-Doctoral Research Associate based at the University of Leeds. Emma joined the VaxHub Sustainable team in 2024.
Work in the Hub
In VaxHub Sustainable, we are working on two work packages, the first being WP 1.1 Improved Platforms, Novel platform development. In this work package, we focus on a platform antigen display technology by the University of Leeds, VelcroVax. This technology will be used where the capsid/core of hepatitis B virus is used as a scaffold in order to ‘present’ antigens. This system compliments other two-component VLP vaccine delivery platforms using technologies in which a small peptide spontaneously forms a covalent (isopeptide) bond with its partner protein (e.g. Spytag/Spycatcher). However, VelcroVax employs non-covalent interactions which is potentially more compatible with the recognition and presentation of oligomeric structures such as trimeric viral glycoproteins.
In addition to this, we are working on WP 1.3 Mucosal and thermostable formulations with Professor Sudaxshina Murdan who is based at UCL.
In this work package, we focus on investigating the sublingual mucosal route of immunisation. Two to three sublingual platform formulations will be developed, using two to three types of antigens. Up to ten substances will be investigated for their potential to act as sublingual vaccine adjuvants with experiments being conducted in vitro and in vivo. To produce dry vaccine formulations (which are more thermostable than liquid ones), freeze-drying and spray-drying will be investigated and conditions that retain the immunogenicity of vaccine formulations will be identified.
The work within VaxHub Sustainable builds on work that has been previously funded by the WHO and the MRC, including the work of a number of PhD students. It is also closely aligned with our work in VaxHub Global.
I am a strong believer in the importance of mentoring and in maintaining a good work-life balance. For me, this means combining science with creative outlets, such as music and art.
I am a Co-Investigator (Co-I) of VaxHub Sustainable, a Professor of Microbial Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Co-Director of the LSHTM Vaccine Centre. My current research focuses on glycosylation in bacterial pathogens and developing a “glycotoolbox” for glycoengineering. This basic research has enabled myself and my colleagues to develop glycoengineering in E. coli through a process termed Protein Glycan Coupling Technology (PGCT) or Bioconjugation. The major application of this technology platform is the construction and production of affordable recombinant glycoconjugate vaccines.
Brendan Wren
Research interests and projects
My core research interest is how and why bacterial pathogens cause disease. This has led to the discovery of enzymes that formed the basis of PGCT and Bioconjugation. I was a Co-I in the first VaxHub and am also a Co-I on VaxHub Global. We collaborate with colleagues in many African and Asian countries to help with the local production of low-cost vaccines. We are currently developing vaccines against several human pathogens including Streptococcus pneumoniae. (Wellcome funding), Group A Strep (Right foundation funding), Shigella (Wellcome funding), and several animal pathogens including Brucella and Streptococcus suis (BBSRC funding). I am also Co-Lead PI of GlycoCell engineering biology hub (BBSRC funded) that uses synthetic biology and Design of Experiment approaches to optimise the production of glycans in bacterial cells (including Bioconjugate vaccines).
Meet the team
I will be working with Lizzie Atkins who is a Post-Doctoral Research Associate based at the LSHTM. She joined the VaxHub Sustainable team in July 2024.
Work in the Hub
We will be working on WP 1.1 Improved Platforms; Microbial pathogens engineering with Professor Catherine Green at the Clinical BioManufacturing Facility, University of Oxford and VaxHub Sustainable Co-Director, Professor Martina Micheletti. Our work in the Hub involves two new recombinant vaccines against bacterial pathogens that will be developed using a novel PGCT and produced as an exemplar. These vaccines will protect against Francisella tularensis (biothreat, protein coupled to lipopolysaccharides) and Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 1 (multi-antibiotic resistance threat, protein coupled to capsule).
The aim of this work is to improve health, social and economic outcomes for individuals by widening the availability of vaccines in LMICs as a result of local manufacturing and lower production costs. The project will achieve impact in alignment with multiple sustainability goals; i) SDG3: Global Health and Well Being; our collaborators across Africa and Asia will gain the capacity to produce affordable vaccines locally, significantly improving healthcare accessibility and availability in these regions. ii) SDG12: Responsible Consumption and Production; the manufacturing process will be safer as there will be no large-scale culture of pathogenic bacteria or use of hazardous chemicals for conjugation, compared with current glycoconjugate vaccine manufacturing methods.
Recent funding news
We were recently awarded a Wellcome Discovery Award with Professor Sam Sheppard (University of Oxford) for eight years on a project entitled “The Campylobacter Control Campaign”. The study will undertake global prospecting of the Campylobacter genome content and use this information for the design of PGCT-derived poultry vaccines to reduce Campylobacter in the food chain and Campylobacteriosis.
Cell-free expression of VLPs
The team from the University of Leeds is involved in a new grant from CEPI that aims to develop cell-free expression of VLPs.
Find out more in the article Speeding up new vaccine development | University of Leeds
Review of Financial Evaluation of Peptide-Based Neoantigen Cancer Vaccine for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
In a collaboration, Hub colleagues Stephen Morris, Ludovica Vaiarelli, Steffi Frank and Michael Thomas jointly supervised a final-year undergraduate student in UCL Biochemical Engineering, who conducted a literature research project that culminated in a successful publication. This review “Manufacturing and Financial Evaluation of Peptide-Based Neoantigen Cancer Vaccines for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer in the United Kingdom: Opportunities and Challenges” (Novakova et al. 2025 doi: 10.3390/vaccines13020144) evaluates the feasibility of introducing a peptide-based neoantigen cancer vaccine (NCV) to treat triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), using the UK as a healthcare model.
Public engagement in Vietnam
Mohamed Yousif and Sudaxshina Murdan were awarded a UCL Global Engagement Fund to organise a public engagement activity with stakeholders at Can Tho University in Vietnam. The activity was to promote the use of vaccines to prevent disease, reduce antibiotic use and address antimicrobial resistance. In addition to a presentation, the organisers (from UCL, Can Tho and Hue Universities in Vietnam and Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan in Pakistan) held a laboratory session where they demonstrated how they produce polymer-based vaccines.
