Beckie Ingram

Dr Beckie Ingram serves as a Reader at the Wellcome Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine within the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences at Queen's University Belfast. Her research program focuses on understanding lymphocytic responses to bacterial infections to facilitate rational vaccine design, with particular expertise in in vivo murine bacterial infection models that form the cornerstone of her laboratory's technical capabilities.

Her research program spans several interconnected areas:

• The induction of innate immunological memory against bacterial infection
• Identification of bacterial antigens from Pseudomonas and Anthrax that elicit protective memory T cell responses
• Defining the precise role of T cells in both driving and resolving inflammation during Streptococcus and Pseudomonas infections
• The rational design and optimization of pre-clinical models to test novel antimicrobials and investigate complex host-pathogen interactions

Analysis of her publication trajectory since 2008 reveals a consistent research program with significant contributions to understanding immune responses to bacterial pathogens. Her most recent work examines ageing effects on regulatory T cells in central nervous system remyelination (2024), while earlier landmark studies include research on anthrax immunity mechanisms and innovative antimicrobial delivery systems using nanoparticle technology.

Dr Ingram's scholarly contributions have been recognized through several prestigious awards:

• Aurora – Developing women leaders in higher education (2017)
• Best Poster Prize (March 2015)
• Immunology Research Prize (August 2015)
• NC3Rs prize for reduction of animal research (April 2022, with Marshall, H.)
• NC3Rs prize (May 2023, with Zarodkiewicz, P.)

She currently serves as Co-Investigator on multiple significant research grants including NICOLA-biome: The NICOLA gut microbiome databank (2025-ongoing), High Parameter Flow Cytometry in Health and Disease (2019-ongoing), and Inhaled Antibiotics in Bronchiectasis and Cystic Fibrosis (2015-ongoing). Her scholarly engagement extends to extensive peer review activities, with recent invited talks on Pseudomonas and Klebsiella vaccine development (April 2024), and active participation in science outreach through school visits and the Northern Ireland Science Festival (February-March 2024).

Her laboratory at the Wellcome Wolfson Institute maintains specialized expertise in murine infection models to investigate host immune responses to bacterial pathogens, with particular emphasis on T cell responses to Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus anthracis, contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals related to good health and well-being.