Advancing human and veterinary vaccinology.

The Jenner Institute is expanding its vaccine development facilities to tackle both human and animal diseases, from tuberculosis and influenza to HIV and African swine fever. This matters because most vaccines are still developed through trial and error, with limited understanding of why some work better than others. The new transcriptomics core facility will analyse gene activity patterns in vaccinated people and livestock, searching for molecular signatures that predict whether a vaccine will be effective. Currently, researchers must wait months or years to measure vaccine success; these signatures could provide answers in days. If successful, this approach could transform how vaccines are designed and tested. Instead of running large, slow clinical trials for each new candidate, developers could quickly screen for promising vaccines by checking these gene activity patterns. For veterinary diseases like foot-and-mouth or African swine fever, faster vaccine development would directly benefit farmers and food supply chains. The existing vector core facility has already produced the most advanced new human tuberculosis vaccine and a related bovine tuberculosis vaccine, demonstrating the practical value of this infrastructure. The transcriptomics work could accelerate similar breakthroughs across a wider range of diseases, making vaccine development faster, cheaper, and more reliable for both human and animal health.