Meet the women leading the Oxford vaccine team - and about to make history

In the days before coronavirus (remember those?) it was celebrities and influencers who dominated the limelight. But these are strange times we live in. As we sit cooped up in our homes seeing out a second nationwide lockdown, it is those in the science community that are emerging as the public's new heroes.

And who would fail to be impressed by the efforts Professor Sarah Gilbert and Professor Catherine Green, two of the latest brains to emerge from the pandemic and, arguably, some of the most important. Both women are at the forefront of the race to develop a vaccine against Covid-19, leading a team of dedicated researchers from the Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccine Group.

And it looks like success could be on the horizon for the team. This week, interim data from a large trial revealed that the coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University suggests 70 per cent protection - although researchers say the figure may be as high as 90 per cent by tweaking the dose. This comes after results by Pfizer and Moderna vaccines showed 95 per cent protection. However, unlike Pfizer, the Oxford vaccine can be stored in a fridge, and is considerably cheaper, costing a few pounds per dose.

Speaking about the results of the trial, Prof Gilbert told reporters that the lower initial dose might better resemble a natural infection. “What we’ve always tried to do with the vaccine is fool the immune system into thinking that there’s a dangerous infection there that it needs to respond to, but in a very safe way – so we get the immune response and we get the immune memory, and that’s there, waiting and ready if the pathogen itself is then encountered.

“It could be that by giving a small amount of the vaccine to start with and following up with a big amount, that’s a better way of kicking the immune system into action and giving us the strongest immune response, and the most effective immune response – but there is more work to do on that.”

The UK government has pre-ordered 100 million doses of the Oxford vaccine, and AstraZeneca says it will make three billion doses for the world next year.

However, despite being at the helm of a potentially life-changing discovery (ours and hers), Prof Gilbert has remained relatively low-key about her research. In an interview with one newspaper, she put it simply: “What we can do is make a vaccine –  so that’s what we’re doing.”

So who are the women about to add their names to history's most eminent scientists?

Professor Sarah Gilbert 

Prof Gilbert's passion for medicine began at Kettering High School. She graduated with a degree in biological sciences from the University of East Anglia, before moving to the University of Hull for her doctoral degree. She went on to work for the Leicester Biocentre for two years before taking on a role at biotech company Delta, where she learnt about drug manufacturing.

She moved to Oxford University in 1994, and was made a reader in vaccinology in 2004, before joining the Jenner Institute in 2010. She is also the co-founder of an Oxford University spin-out company, Vaccitech, which is conducting a number of clinical studies of viral vectored vaccines (which combine parts from various diseases).

And it seems she is admired by viewers and colleagues alike. “Sarah Gilbert is fantastic at talking to the media. She really is the expert and answers questions clearly and honestly. So proud to have done my PhD in this group,” tweeted a former co-worker Susanna Dunachie.

But Prof Gilbert maintains that she never meant to become a vaccine specialist.

“I actually came to Oxford to work on a human genetics project,” she told a newspaper. “That highlighted the role of a particular type of immune response in protection against malaria and so the next thing to move on to was to make a vaccine that would work through that type of immune response - and that’s how I got into vaccines.”

One can't help but feel thankful she did. With worldwide coronavirus deaths exceeding one million, and economists predicting a financial crash from extended periods of lockdown, the race to develop a vaccine is urgent. It is thought that 60-70 per cent of people need to be immune to the virus in order to stop it spreading.

Can it be achieved?

As ever, Prof Gilbert remained measured when discussing this. She has said in the media that "nobody can give any guarantees, nobody can promise it’s going to work and nobody can give you a definite date, but we have to do all we can as fast as we can.”

She is also breath of fresh air in the science research industry, which still remains male dominated. According to the Women in Science and Engineering (Wise) campaign’s latest analysis, women in science professional roles now make up to 45.7 per cent of the workforce. However, worldwide, less than 30 per cent of the world’s researchers are women.

Plus, the gender pay gap for UK scientists has widened. According to the 2019 edition of the annual salary survey carried out by New Scientist and science recruitment specialists SRG, the average female scientist or engineer now earns ￡35,600, while the average for men is ￡45,800 – a 22 per cent difference.

Although the gender balance is closing in, historically women at the forefront of pioneering research haven't got a fair deal. Katherine Johnson, the American mathematician who contributed calculations to the Apollo 11 mission, was overlooked for years in her vital role. Last year, Rosalind Franklin, the scientist who helped discover DNA but was overshadowed by her female colleagues, was finally granted recognition after a space robot was named after her.

But with the well-being of society in her hands, it seems fitting that Prof Gilbert should be honoured for her efforts far sooner. The Jenner Institute, where the coronavirus vaccine is being trialed, is named after Edward Jenner who helped develop a vaccination against smallpox. Perhaps Gilbert too could one day see an institute named after her.

But for now, work and family remain a priority over academic glory. Alongside leading the team of researchers on what she refers to as "very long days" of work, Professor Gilbert has three children at home - 21-year-old triplets who have volunteered to be part of the trial. She told The Times that they “are all biochemists and are very interested in what’s happening.”

Despite her field of work, Professor Gilbert is no stranger to the struggles faced by working women. Previously, she hasn't shied away from speaking about the struggle to find a perfect work and life balance -  a dynamic she called “impossible unless you have good support.”

“Because I had triplets, nursery fees would have cost more than my entire income as a post-doctoral scientist, so my partner has had to sacrifice his own career in order to look after our children.” she told the Nuffield Department of Medicine. “One of the good things about being a scientist is that the hours are not fixed, so there is a fair amount of flexibility for working mothers. Having said that, there are also times when things (such as overseas conferences and important meetings) are fixed and you have to make sacrifices.”

At a time when many women around the UK are feeling the burden of domestic duties and homeschooling, these are reassuring words to hear.

But for now, its "back to work" for Sarah Gilbert. She is the most important woman in science right now, after all.

Professor Catherine Green 

Although she's not as well known as Prof Gilbert, Prof Green is another woman who has been working tirelessly to develop the Oxford vaccine. She previously said that her love of science was solidified during her time as an undergraduate at the University of Cambridge where she studied biochemistry. Since completing her degree, Prof Green has accumulated an impressive CV. She was awarded an Imperial Cancer Research Fund (now Cancer Research UK) scholarship for her doctoral research, and she went on to study DNA in yeast at the Clare Hall laboratories. After earning her doctorate, Prof Green moved to the Curie Institute, where she studied DNA damage in human cells as a Marie Curie Fellow. She then undertook a role at the University of Cambridge as a Cancer Research UK Research Fellow in the Department of Zoology, before moving to Oxford University in 2012 where she joined the Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics.

Currently, Prof Green is an associate professor in Chromosome Dynamics at Oxford University. She also heads the Nuffield Department of Medicine's Clinical Biomanufacturing Facility (CBF), where she specialises in creating vaccines for clinical trials. She started work on the coronavirus vaccine with the Jenner Institute team in January this year.

Indeed, given Prof Green's experience it seems the covid vaccine is in safe hands: over the last 15 years, the CBF team has made many novel vaccines for first in human trials, covering diseases including malaria, TB, influenza, MERS, Zika, rabies, plague and Ebola (among others).

Little is known about Green's family life; however, like Gilbert, she has remained relatively humble about her team's achievements, and the potential for a vaccine. Speaking about the progress of the team at the Jenner Institute back in April, she said: “We’re under massive pressure, I think the pressure comes from us because we want to try and help, but there’s a lot of pressure from the media, friends of your mum and dad, but the Government is being very sensible in its approach."

However, with news that the vaccine is highly effective, surely it's time for some celebration? Perhaps, although work pioneering a global vaccine is never done. Green wrote on Twitter: 'If we were allowed I would be buying my team a massive cake today as a thank you and a celebration... will have to wait until next year - I really owe them one for all their hard work and dedication this year. but it paid off!'