Christopher Chiu

Biography

Chris Chiu is a Clinical Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant in the Department of Infectious Diseases. He underwent his basic medical training at Cambridge and Oxford Universities, and later was awarded a Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Training fellowship to undertake a PhD with Charles Bangham and Margaret Callan at Imperial College, investigating gene transcription signatures of the early CD8+ T cell response to acute viral infection. On completion of his specialist clinical training, he was awarded an MRC Clinician Scientist fellowship and furthered his research by working with Rafi Ahmed's group at Emory University, examining adaptive immune responses to influenza and varicella zoster virus vaccines. His research interests focus mainly on B and T cell immunity to recurrent viral infections, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza and herpesviruses, with a particular emphasis on the development of better vaccines. He leads a group primarily using experimental infection of volunteers to investigate systemic and mucosal immunity against influenza and RSV. These highly specialised models provide a unique opportunity to examine correlates and mechanisms of protection and disease severity in human beings. The work now encompasses early phase clinical vaccine trials as well as fundamental studies of human immunity, which together enhance our understanding of how colds and flu-like illnesses may be prevented.

Research Interest

vaccines