Before the COVID-19 outbreak, Sarah Caddy was conducting research on a number of different viruses. 鈥淚 was looking at how antibodies can neutralise rotavirus and influenza, to help develop better vaccine candidates,鈥 she says, 鈥渟o it wasn鈥檛 a huge leap to extend my research to include coronavirus.鈥
Before the COVID-19 outbreak, Sarah Caddy was conducting research on a number of different viruses. 鈥淚 was looking at how antibodies can neutralise rotavirus and influenza, to help develop better vaccine candidates,鈥 she says, 鈥渟o it wasn鈥檛 a huge leap to extend my research to include coronavirus.鈥
This article is part of a series in which we speak to some of the many Cambridge researchers tackling COVID-19. For other articles about our latest COVID-19-related research, click here.
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I鈥檓 a clinical research fellow and veterinary surgeon in the new Cambridge Institute for Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Diseases (CITIID) on the Biomedical Campus. Over the past few months I have divided my time between CITIID, and volunteering in the Department of Virology as part of the .
My initial role in the COVID-19 pandemic was related to diagnostics. I gained experience of testing patient samples for viruses during the Ebola outbreak in 2015 in Sierra Leone, so when COVID-19 cases started rising in the UK I volunteered to help the Public Health England lab in Addenbrookes. From there I joined Professor Ian Goodfellow鈥檚 team working to sequence full genomes of the virus from patients across East Anglia. As case numbers are being brought under control I鈥檝e been able to transition back to virus research, which aims to improve our understanding of coronavirus immunity.
My research usually focuses on the antibody response to viruses. This means it hasn鈥檛 been too large a leap to extend my research to include coronaviruses. We need to determine how coronavirus-specific antibodies are working, in order to find out what the 鈥榠deal鈥 antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 is. This will be valuable for development of effective vaccines and for identification of people that may be susceptible to repeat infections.听听
As a veterinarian, I have also been closely following the news about COVID-19 in animals. There are many myths and misconceptions in this area, so I鈥榲e been actively engaged in reassuring veterinary professionals and the public about risks to pets. I鈥檝e written a number of articles for 探花直播Conversation and the Naked Scientists on this in recent weeks (there鈥檚 still zero evidence of pets transmitting the virus to humans). With support from colleagues in CITIID, I have also established a new project for COVID-19 testing in animals.听
Development of safe, effective, and widely available vaccines is an incredible challenge facing scientists right now. Many different vaccine approaches are being studied, but we don鈥檛 yet know which is going to be successful. 探花直播number of trials currently underway for SARS-CoV-2 vaccines is beyond anything the vaccine field has previously seen.
I have always been keen to seen molecular biology translated for use in medical settings. There is now cross-talk between research institutes and the hospitals like never before, and the scientists and clinicians are collaborating at an impressive rate!
Many lessons have been learnt about our ability and capacity to test for viruses in the UK. 探花直播number of scientists wanting to volunteer to help with testing has been immense, so in future I hope logistics and organisation will be able to match this enthusiasm much quicker.
When the pandemic is over, I鈥檓 looking forward to travelling anywhere outside of Cambridge! Much as I love this city, I really miss venturing further afield to see family, friends, and explore new places. I鈥檇 also really like to sit in a busy caf茅 with a good coffee!
Sarah Caddy is a Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Fellow in Viral Immunology at the Cambridge Institute for Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease.
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