Peter Openshaw

Biography

Peter Openshaw is Professor of Experimental Medicine at Imperial College London and an Honorary Physician in the Department of Respiratory Medicine at the St Mary's Campus of the Imperial College NHS Trust. He was appointed as an NIHR Senior Investigator in 2013 and became President of the British Society for Immunology in 2014, the first clinician to lead the organisation. Peter trained at Guy's Hospital, the Brompton and the Royal Postgraduate Medical School (Hammersmith). His PhD training (with Ita Askonas FRS at the National Institute for Medical Research, 1985-1988) led to a Wellcome Senior Fellowship and the creation of the Academic Department of Respiratory Medicine at St Mary's. The department now has three professors (Peter Openshaw, Sebastian Johnston and Ajit Lalvani) and over 100 members of staff. It was completely refurbished in 2002-2003 (JIF award). He was the Principal Applicant on a strategic award for a Centre in Respiratory Infection (Wellcome Trust, £3.4m, 2008-2010). His research is on the immunology of the lung, viral lung disease, vaccination and immunopathogenesis of viral disease. He was among the first 100 elected Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (1999), and served on Wellcome Trust's Clinical Interest Group (1997-2003), Infection and Immunity (2002-2004) and the Tropical and Clinical Panels (2006-2008) and the Immunology and Infectious Diseases panel (2008-2010). He has served on many other national and international grant bodies. He became a member of British Society for Immunology's Council in 2006 and a member of the Department of Health's Scientific Advisory Group on Pandemic Influenza in December 2007. In 2009 Peter was invited by the Department of Health to become a member of the Scientific Advisory Group in Emergencies (SAGE), chaired by the Chief Government Scientist, which advised the UK Government on pandemic influenza. He became vice-Chair of NERVTAG in 2015.

Research Interest

Respiratory Medicine, immunology, immunopathogenesis