Thushan De Silva

Biography

I am a clinician scientist and Wellcome Trust Intermediate Clinical Fellow, currently based at the MRC Unit The Gambia as a PI in the Vaccines and Immunity Theme lead by Professor Beate Kampmann. My primary interest is the study of anti-viral immune responses in the context of both vaccination and natural infection. The focus of my current research is the detailed mucosal and systemic immunogenicity of live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) in Gambian children using a systems vaccinology approach, including interactions with the host nasopharyngeal microbiome.  I completed my undergraduate medical training at the University of Bristol in 2000, followed by postgraduate clinical training in General Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases and HIV in Oxford and London. I then moved to Sheffield for higher specialist training in Infectious Diseases & Microbiology. I was awarded a British Infection Society Research Fellowship (2007-8), followed by an MRC Clinical Research Training Fellowship (2008 – 11) to undertake my PhD studies under the supervision of Professor Sarah Rowland-Jones (Oxford) and Professor Robin Weiss (UCL) on the pathogenesis of HIV-2 infection and molecular epidemiology of HIV in The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau.

Research Interest

immune responses