University of Oxford (consortium lead)

Ellie Barnes

Ellie Barnes is an MRC Senior Fellow and Honorary Consultant in Hepatology at the Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford. Her research interests lie within immunology and infectious disease, specifically hepatitis C. One of the main aims of her current research programme surrounds HCV vaccine development. 

Professor Barnes is lead investigator for STOP-HCV

Email:ellie.barnes@ndm.ox.ac.uk

Chris Holmes

Chris Holmes is Professor of Statistics at the University of Oxford. His broad research interests lie in the theory, methods and applications of statistics and statistical modelling. His current research is focussed on applications and statistical methods development in the genomic sciences and genetic epidemiology.

Professor Holmes leads work strand 6: Data integration 

Email: cholmes@stats.ox.ac.uk

Paul Klenerman

Paul Klenerman is a Wellcome Trust Senior Fellow and Professor of Immunology at the Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford. The main aim of his research is to understand the role of host immune responses in determining the outcome of viral infections. The focus of his current research surrounds T cell responses and HCV. 

Professor Klenerman leads work strand 4: Immune phenotyping.

Chris Spencer

Chris Spencer is a Statistical Geneticist and Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellow based at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford. His group uses large-scale human genetic data to improve prediction, prevention and treatment of disease. He uses genetics to both inform on underlying disease biology and to identify markers which are informative for clinical outcomes.

Dr Spencer leads work strand 3: Host genomics.

Email: chris.spencer@well.ox.ac.uk

Peter Simmonds

Peter Simmonds is Professor of Virology at the University of Oxford.  His main research interests lie with the evolution and epidemiology of virus infections, and interactions with their hosts. He has led a number of investigations ranging from evolutionary studies of virus variability and recombination, molecular epidemiology and studies of viral pathogenesis and interactions of virus with host cell defences.

Professor Simmonds leads work strand 2: Viral genomics

Jane McKeating

Jane McKeating is is a Professor of molecular biology at Oxford University, and honorary Professor at the University of Birmingham.

Her research focuses on the molecular biology of HCV, with particular emphasis on the role of the cell surface receptors in the viral life cycle.  She is interested in studying both the primary interaction of the virus with the host and the humoral immune response to HCV. 

Professor McKeating is involved with work strand 4: Immune phenotyping.

Nicole Zitzmann

Nicole Zitzmann heads a research group within the Oxford Glycobiology Institute and the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Oxford.  Her research interests lie in the development of antiviral therapies and methods of drug delivery to combat viruses such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV and dengue. 

Professor Zitzmann is involved with work strand 5: Biomarkers.