Lymph nodes are small organs essential in defending the body against infections, cancer, and autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis. They react to vaccines by swelling with antibody-producing white blood cells, and may represent critical targets for new drug therapies. However, current knowledge about lymph node function is limited due to reliance on indirect blood analyses or examination of diseased lymph nodes. This limits the development of targeted drugs and vaccines.
A national network of expert lymph node research centres is expected to be transformative for British science in this growing field, helping to drive forward research through targeted training and strategic regional development. It will enable substantial benefits nationally and globally across discovery science in infection and immunity, drug and vaccine development, commercial partnerships, and related fields such as cancer research.
In addition to the three lead university sites, the other centres will be built at the universities of Birmingham, University College London (UCL), Liverpool, Glasgow, St. George’s Vaccine Institute and two at the University of Cambridge. Each centre will provide essential training, resources, expert support in research design, participant engagement, advanced lymph node cell handling, and data analysis techniques.
Professor Katrina Pollock, Chief Investigator for the LEGACY Network at the Oxford Vaccine Group, said: “The establishment of this national network of lymph node centres represents a transformative step for UK biomedical research. Until now, our understanding has been restricted by indirect methods and studies of diseased tissue. By collaborating with our academic partners to create these ten dedicated centres, we can study healthy lymph node function directly for the first time, paving the way for targeted therapies and next-generation vaccines.”