28 August 2020

Three new UK-wide studies will receive 8.4 million from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to understand immune responses to the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2.

The largest of these is the UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium (UK-CIC), which receives 6.5 million in funding. It will bring together scientists at the University of Sheffield with immunologists at 16 other UK universities to investigate the following:

Specifically, the Sheffield team will study two main areas:

The contribution of the University of Sheffield to UK-CIC reflects the notable expertise across the University in both myeloid and T cell biology, and infectious diseases.

Together, it is hoped the studies of the UK-CIC will significantly improve our understanding of this new virus and thus treatment outcomes for patients. They may also inform the development of vaccines and new therapies for Covid-19.

The project will use samples and data from major UK Covid-19 projects already underway, and funded by UKRI and NIHR, including ISARIC-4C (characterising and following more than 75,000 hospitalised patients with Covid-19) and the genomic studies COG-UK (sequencing the SARS-CoV-2 virus genomes) and GenOMICC (sequencing the genomes of people with Covid-19).

The Sheffield team is led by Professor Claire Lewis from the Department of Oncology and Metabolism and Professor Sarah Rowland-Jones, Dr Thushan de Silva and Professor Endre Kiss-Toth from the Department of Infection, Immunity and Cardiovascular Disease.

Claire Lewis, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Pathology at the University of Sheffield, said: We are delighted to be able to contribute to this exciting new immunology consortium. Pooling our expertise and resources in this way will accelerate our understanding of how this coronavirus affects the immune system, and thus how we can defeat it.

The University of Sheffield has a rich heritage of pioneering research to fight infectious disease. In 1941 Sir Howard Florey, former Chair of Pathology at the University of Sheffield, conducted the first ever clinical trials of penicillin a drug which would go on to save more than 82 million lives worldwide.

Pooling our expertise and resources in this way will accelerate our understanding of how this coronavirus affects the immune system, and thus how we can defeat it

Professor Claire Lewis, University of sheffield

Dr Thushan de Silva, Senior Clinical Lecturer in Infectious Diseases at the University of Sheffield, said: We are excited to be working with colleagues across the consortium to characterise the nature and durability of immunity after Covid-19. This work will be key to understanding what immune responses are important in protecting people from re-infection as we move into the next phases of the pandemic.

The UK-CIC consortium is led nationally by Professor Paul Moss at the University of Birmingham, who said: The UK is a world leader in immunology research and its an honour to lead this consortium to deliver a coordinated and agile national research programme to build our knowledge of this disease, which will translate into meaningful benefits for patients. There is so much that we still need to learn about how the novel coronavirus interacts with our immune systems and, with this investment, we have a unique opportunity to answer these key questions and hasten effective pandemic control.

The Humoral Immune Correlates of Covid-19 (HICC) consortium will receive 1.5 million to study the humoral immune response molecules produced by the immune system to fight infection, including antibodies. They will focus on two groups: NHS workers in collaboration with SIREN to track immunity over 12 months, and hospitalised patients.

Both the UK-CIC and HICC have been given urgent public health research status by the Department of Health and Social Care to prioritise their delivery by the health and care system.

The third study will specifically focus on the key features of fatal Covid-19 and the impact the virus has upon the lungs and other vital organs. The project, titled Inflammation in Covid-19: Exploration of Critical Aspects of Pathogenesis, or ICECAP, will receive 394,000.

Chief Medical Officer for England and Head of the NIHR, Professor Chris Whitty, said: Understanding how our immune systems respond to Covid-19 is key to solving some of the important questions about this new disease, including whether those who have had the disease develop immunity and how long this lasts, and why some are more severely affected.

This investment by the NIHR and UKRI will help immunology experts to discover how our immune systems respond to SARS-CoV-2, including our T cell response. This is vital information to help prevent and treat the disease.

These studies build on the UKs world-class expertise and capability in global health and infectious disease that has already shaped our understanding of the pandemic and is informing measures to tackle it.

The full list of research institutions include the University of Birmingham, University of Bristol, University of Cambridge and Wellcome Sanger Institute, UCL, Kings College London, Imperial College London, University of Liverpool, University of Manchester, Newcastle University, University of Oxford, University of Sheffield, University of York, Cardiff University, University of Dundee, University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow and the Bradford Institute for Health Research.

The University of Sheffield

With almost 29,000 of the brightest students from over 140 countries, learning alongside over 1,200 of the best academics from across the globe, the University of Sheffield is one of the worlds leading universities.

A member of the UKs prestigious Russell Group of leading research-led institutions, Sheffield offers world-class teaching and research excellence across a wide range of disciplines.

Unified by the power of discovery and understanding, staff and students at the university are committed to finding new ways to transform the world we live in.

Sheffield is the only university to feature in The Sunday Times 100 Best Not-For-Profit Organisations to Work For 2018 and for the last eight years has been ranked in the top five UK universities for Student Satisfaction by Times Higher Education.

Sheffield has six Nobel Prize winners among former staff and students and its alumni go on to hold positions of great responsibility and influence all over the world, making significant contributions in their chosen fields. Global research partners and clients include Boeing, Rolls-Royce, Unilever, AstraZeneca, Glaxo SmithKline, Siemens and Airbus, as well as many UK and overseas government agencies and charitable foundations.

UK Research and Innovation works in partnership with universities, research organisations, businesses, charities, and government to create the best possible environment for research and innovation to flourish. We aim to maximise the contribution of each of our component parts, working individually and collectively. We work with our many partners to benefit everyone through knowledge, talent and ideas.

For further information please contact:

Amy HuxtableMedia Relations OfficerThe University of Sheffield0114 222 9859a.l.huxtable@sheffield.ac.uk

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