Persephone Borrow

Persephone Borrow is Professor of Viral Immunology at the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, within the Nuffield Department of Medicine (NDM). Her research focuses on overcoming critical roadblocks in HIV-1 vaccine development through comprehensive analysis of immune responses during acute infection, with emphasis on broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs), innate immunity, and T cell dynamics.

Her primary research interests span HIV immunology, vaccine design, and viral pathogenesis. She investigates mechanisms for eliciting bNAbs via optimized CD4+ T follicular helper cell responses and modulation of regulatory constraints in germinal centers. Her work on innate immunity examines type 1 interferons and natural killer cells in acute HIV infection, while her T cell research analyzes CD8+ response dynamics, viral escape mutations, and founder virus fitness to understand viral control. These studies aim to define immune interventions that block infection establishment or modulate early disease progression.

Recent publications (2023-2025) reveal interdisciplinary work bridging HIV virology, cancer immunotherapy, and viral immune evasion. Key themes include HIV latency reversal through kinase inhibition, cytomegalovirus-mediated MHC regulation, and novel cancer antigen discovery methods. Her group employs molecular, cellular, and bioinformatics approaches to translate basic immune mechanisms into therapeutic strategies for infectious diseases and oncology.

No scientific awards were documented in the available information.

Details regarding academic advising of students and specific research grant funding were not provided in the source materials.

Professor Borrow leads a research group at the Jenner Institute collaborating with global experts including Mary Carrington (National Cancer Institute), Simon Draper (Oxford), Mike Dustin (Oxford), Beatrice Hahn (UPenn), and Barton Haynes (Duke). Her team leverages Oxford's NDM Research Building infrastructure and participates in the Jenner Institute's broader vaccine development initiatives for malaria and emerging pathogens.