Connor Laboratory

The Connor Laboratory combines cutting-edge immunology, molecular biology, and synthetic biology to address the most pressing challenges in immunisation and infectious disease. The group takes a multidisciplinary approach, integrating insights into immune cell development and activation, antigen presentation, and immune signalling with innovative vaccine delivery platforms.

The Connor Lab's goal is to advance vaccines that provide long-term protection while addressing critical gaps in current vaccination strategies, such as understanding mucosal immunity for specialised mucosal vaccines and developing personalised therapies for immunocompromised populations.

They aim to create more effective, adaptable, and safe vaccines by leveraging novel strategies like mRNA and synthetic ligands to enhance immune responses and improve global health outcomes.

Research areas

Infectious Disease
Vaccine design
Harnessing unconventional T-cells for mucosal vaccines and therapeutics
Designing novel circular RNA to improve mRNA vaccine efficacy
Developing a universal influenza vaccine through antigen engineering
Developing mRNA vaccine strategies for vulnerable individuals

Research collaborations

Prof Gavin Painter, Dr Benji Compton, A.Prof Bridget Stocker, Prof Ian Hermans – Synthetic ligands and unconventional T cell activation
Prof Wayne Patrick, Dr Joanna Hicks, Dr Adele Williamson, Dr William Kelton – RNA biology, structural biology, and bioengineering for circular RNA vaccines
Dr Kuang-Chih Hsiao, Prof James Ussher, Prof Ian Hermans, Dr Michelle Linterman, Dr Isabelle Montgomerie, Advancing RNA vaccine technology for vulnerable populations.