
Dr Alice Halliday
BSc, PhD
Current positions
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Research interests
My research interests are broadly around understanding the immunology of infectious diseases with a translational focus. I am currently working on using new technologies to understand Group A streptococcal biology in individuals with either asymptomatic carriage or pharyngitis. Using samples from infected individuals, I hope to better understand the bacterial and immunological processes which occur in natural infection and disease, to inform vaccine development. I was recently awarded a 2 year Elizabeth Blackwell Institute Early Career Fellowship to carry out this project, with the support of Professor Adam Finn.
I also maintain an interest in several other infectious diseases, including a number of important respiratory pathogens. I previously worked on the immunodiagnosis of Tuberculosis infection in Imperial College London (with Prof. Ajit Lalvani), in a large project using samples from patients recruited with suspect active Tuberculosis in the UK. I also worked on signatures of progression risk within those with latent Tuberculosis infection. Whilst at Imperial College I also spent some time on a project to describe the immune responses to the live attenuated influenza vaccine in children. My doctorate was in the field of parasite immunology using mouse models of infection. Recently, I have been involved in several projects exploring the immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection and different COVID-19 vaccines.
I am very interested in better understanding the immunobiology of infectious diseases using clinical studies, in order to develop improved vaccines, diagnostics and treatments.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
Using Human Influenza and bacterial challenge models to evaluate the pathogenesis of bacterial colonisation of the respiratory tract and identify candidate vaccine antigens likely to impact on transmission
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Cellular and Molecular MedicineDates
01/04/2019 to 14/01/2022
Elizabeth Blackwell Institute Early Career Fellowship
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Cellular and Molecular MedicineDates
01/10/2018 to 30/09/2020
Publications
Selected publications
09/11/2022Development and evaluation of low-volume tests to detect and characterize antibodies to SARS-CoV-2
Frontiers in Immunology
Defining the role of cellular immune signatures in diagnostic evaluation of suspected tuberculosis
Journal of Infectious Diseases
Transcriptomic signatures for diagnosing tuberculosis in clinical practice
Lancet Infectious Diseases
Young infants exhibit robust functional antibody responses and restrained IFN-γ production to SARS-CoV-2
Cell Reports Medicine
Post-acute COVID-19 associated with evidence of bystander T-cell activation and a recurring AMR bacterial pneumonia
eLife
Recent publications
25/02/2025High Mycobacterium bovis Exposure but Low IGRA Positivity in UK Farm Workers
Zoonoses and Public Health
An assessment of the airborne longevity of group A Streptococcus
Microbiology
Detection of SARS-CoV-2-specific mucosal antibodies in saliva following concomitant COVID-19 and influenza vaccination in the ComFluCOV trial
Vaccine
Evaluation and deployment of isotype-specific salivary antibody assays for detecting previous SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and adults
Communications Medicine
Prolonged T-cell activation and long COVID symptoms independently associate with severe COVID-19 at 3 months
eLife