ProfessorBeateKampmann

Summary

Beate Kampmann is Professor of Paediatric Infection, Immunity and International Child Health.

The aim of her work is to link scientific discoveries in the laboratory to the delivery of evidence-based care for children in the UK and Africa.

Her main areas of research are Paediatric Tuberculosis, including HIV-co-infection and Vaccinology. Her team also conducts laboratory and clinical studies to understand age-related immune responses to infection and vaccination and is developing novel strategies for prevention of infection in the newborn, such as maternal immunisation.

Since July 2010, she heads the Vaccinology theme at the MRC-The Gambia www.mrc.gm, where she leads a team of over 80 scientists and support staff to conduct laboratory research and clinical trials in tuberculosis, infant immunology and molecular diagnostics aimed at improving global health with a particular emphasis on maternal and child health in West-Africa.

Between Imperial College and The Gambia, she has established an “Open lab” approach to facilitate the exchange of staff, PhD students and research ideas.

The Kampmann team website can be found at

 http://www1.imperial.ac.uk/kampmanngroup/

 

Professor Kampmann’s research has a clear translational focus, which is facilitated by her close involvement with the clinical services for children with infectious diseases at Imperial NHS Healthcare Trust. She remains an active member of the paediatric consultant team.

Training background:

• Clinician-Scientist in Paediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunology (trained in Germany, UK, USA and South Africa)
• PhD in mycobacterial immunology 2000  
• Diploma in Tropical Medicine & Hygiene (LSHTM 1995)
• MD Treatment of HIV-associated Kaposi-sarcoma with IFNa (Cologne 1989)

During her PhD, she developed a novel functional in vitro assay (lux assay), employing reporter-gene tagged mycobacteria and whole human blood to measure cell-mediated immune responses to mycobacteria. The lux assay has now been employed as a model to study the effects of anti-retroviral therapy on immune responses to mycobacteria in children with HIV, the effects of Vitamin D supplementation on mycobacterial survival, immunogenicity of BCG vaccine and to evaluate novel anti-TB vaccine candidates.

 

Funding: 

• MRC Program grant (2013-
• Al Thrasher Senior Investigator Award (2014-
• NIHR- Senior Research Fellowship (2009-2014, only award in this category in 2009)
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• DFID/Wellcome/MRC Global Health Clinical Trials scheme
• Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellow (2005-2009)
• Wellcome Trust Training Fellow (2000-2004)
• BRC Imperial College- Senior Investigator
• MRC- Theme Leader for Vaccinology in the Gambia (2010-
• Centre for Respiratory Infection (CRI) Imperial College –Co-investigator
• Her PhD students have attracted funding from the Wellcome Trust, MRC, NIHR, ESPID and the Thrasher Fund.

 

 

Other professional activities:

• Chair of the scientific Advisory Board for the German Centre for Translational Medicine/Research (DZIF)
• Wellcome Trust ERG for Public Health
• Associate Editor THORAX (2015-
• Member of the EDCTP scientific advisory board (2013-14)
• Founder and Chair of the ptbnet, a collaborative research initiative for paediatric TB in Europe (http://www.tb-net.org/index.php/ptbnet)
• Member of the steering committee of the TBNET (www.TB-net.org)
• Board member of the Academic Paediatric Association of Great Britain and Ireland (APA GB&I) (2008-11)
• Fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (FRCPCH)
• Member of the Academic Board of the RCPCH (2008-11)
• Scientific advisor to PENTA (Paediatric European Network for Treatment of AIDS)
• Scientific advisor to the StopTB/WHO campaign.

Publications

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