Prof Simon Graham

Simon graduated with a first-class BSc in Biological Sciences with Immunology Honours from the University of Edinburgh and went on to obtain a PhD from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, where he developed a cattle model for testing experimental vaccines against onchocerciasis (river blindness). After post-doctoral positions working on Theilerioses vaccine development at the Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Edinburgh, and the International Livestock Research Institute, Kenya, Simon joined the Virology Department of the Animal and Plant Health Agency, Weybridge, leading immunological and vaccine-related research on a number of viral diseases of livestock. In 2014, he took up the joint position of Group Leader PRRS Immunology at The Pirbright Institute and Senior Lecturer/Reader in Veterinary Immunology, within the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Surrey. In 2019, Simon joined Pirbright on a full-time basis and was appointed as a Visiting Professor at Surrey. The primary objective of his research group is to improve our understanding of the interactions between porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome viruses and the immune system and to exploit this to develop next-generation vaccines. He is also developing a Nipah virus vaccine for use in pigs to protect against infection and transmission thereby reducing the risk to public health. Simon leads the work programme linking Fc and Fc-receptor function in livestock species as part of the Pirbright Antibody Hub, is Co-Director of the International Veterinary Vaccinology Network, and leads the Institute’s Strategic Programme Topic ‘A fundamental understanding of immune responses’.