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 September 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 September 2019, Simon joined Pirbright on a full time basis and was appointed as a Visiting Professor at Surrey. The overarching objective of Simon’s research group is to improve our understanding of the interactions between porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome viruses (PRRSV) and the immune system and to exploit this to develop next-generation vaccines.

Ongoing projects aim:

1. To test the hypothesis that increased PRRSV virulence is associated with an enhanced capacity to infect and dysregulate dendritic cell function
2. To identify PRRSV-host protein interactions and mechanisms that antagonize the innate immune responses
3. To identify PRRSV epitopes recognised by broadly neutralising antibodies for the design of novel immunogens.

In addition, Simon leads a consortium developing a Nipah virus vaccine for use in pigs to protect against infection and transmission thereby reducing the risk to public health.