Julian Knight

Julian Knight is a Professor of Genomic Medicine at the University of Oxford, with affiliations including the Centre for Human Genetics, Merton College, and leadership roles in the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre and Central and South NHS Genomic Medicine Service. His work bridges clinical practice and research, focusing on translational genomics.

• Principal Investigator
• Deputy Director, Centre for Human Genetics
• Honorary Consultant Physician
• Tutor and Fellow, Merton College
• Director, Medical Sciences Division Graduate School
• Genomic Medicine Theme Lead, NIHR Oxford BRC

Research interests include mechanisms of dysregulated immune responses in sepsis, autoimmune disease, and infection. Key contributions involve RNA signature stratification for sepsis outcomes and HLA allele associations in COVID-19 immunogenicity. Current work explores genetic/epigenetic modulators of innate immunity and causal relationships in multi-omic datasets.

Recent publications highlight diverse applications of his group’s work: from pleural infection endotyping (2025) to TLR7 variants in severe COVID-19 (2024), with methodological advancements in single-cell demultiplexing (2024) and pathway analysis (2025). Keywords span genomic medicine, immunology, and multi-omic integration.

Knight’s leadership extends to clinical implementation of genomics, education (DPhil/MSc programs), and public engagement. Collaborations span institutions including Imperial College, Wellcome Sanger Institute, and Queen Mary University of London.