Rachel Tanner

Rachel Tanner is an immunologist working at the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford. She won the 'Women of the Future' Award for Science in 2019.
Research.
Tanner researches tuberculosis with a focus on immune correlates of protection and the host immune response to TB vaccination. She has worked extensively on "in vitro" functional assays for vaccine testing to reduce the number of animals used in 'challenge' or infection experiments, and has led an NC3Rs funded project to transfer one such assay internationally. Her research interests also include the specific and non-specific effects of the BCG vaccine across different populations, and development of a vaccine against Mycobacterium bovis in cattle. Initial research was on HIV vaccines with the Centre for HIV-AIDS Vaccine Immunology (CHAVI) at the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine (WIMM), University of Oxford, but since her work has moved to TB. In 2020, Tanner was part of the Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine Trial Group which developed and tested the safety and efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine (AZD1222) against SARS-CoV-2.
Career.
Tanner was awarded an MA in Biological Sciences from Wadham College and a DPhil in Clinical Medicine from St Cross College, University of Oxford, and was funded in the latter by the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW). She was a Fulford Junior Research Fellow of Somerville College from 2017 to 2019, and is now a Lecturer in Human Sciences at Wadham College, a Research Fellow at Wolfson College, and a VALIDATE Fellow.
Publications.
Tanner has co-authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications.