Marco Polo Peralta

I am a physician-researcher winner of the Osler Award and NDM Prize studentship, working as Senior Scientist in Bioprocess Development at the University of Oxford. Integrating clinical insights with bioprocess understanding, I aim to innovate cost-effective strategies for the characterisation and production of biologics, paving the way for the experimental medicines and early-phase clinical development of ground-breaking interventions.

Vaccine manufacture

During my master's journey, I had the privilege of interning for six months with Assoc. Prof. Sandy Douglas at the Jenner Institute. This valuable experience allowed me to contribute to the development of upstream and downstream bioprocesses crucial for vaccine manufacturing. Collaborating with Merck, I played an instrumental role in enhancing the production of multiple ChAdOx vectors. Notably, the technology we developed had a direct positive influence on the production of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine during its Phase I/II & III clinical trials.

Coronavirus

As a key member of the Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine Trial Group during my DPhil studies, I was at the forefront of characterising the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 antibody responses. I further contributed to its evaluation across Phase I/II & III clinical trials, providing crucial insights to the medical community.

Tuberculosis

I am a winner of the competitive NDM Prize studentship, which funded my DPhil in Clinical Medicine. During my DPhil, I focused on the characterisation of antibody responses induced by tuberculosis (TB) vaccines at the Jenner Institute, developing novel methodologies for the evaluation of antibody responses and the identification of novel correlates of protection for TB in non-human primates.”

My dedication to medical research was recognized with the NDM Prize studentship, which fully sponsored my DPhil in Clinical Medicine. During this intensive period, my research was centred on understanding antibody responses induced by tuberculosis (TB) vaccines at the Jenner Institute. I developed novel methodologies to evaluate antibody responses, leading to the identification of correlates of protection for TB in non-human primates.