Bio:
Dr. Karin Hellner is a consultant gynaecologist and researcher at the Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health. She has a strong clinical interest in HPV-associated cervical disease and is leading a research program in the field of the molecular basis and clinical management of cervical dysplasia. She is the lead consultant for Oxford’s colposcopy service and Principal Investigator of multiple national and international clinical trials.
Dr. Gemma Hancock is a Senior Postdoctoral Researcher at the Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health. She has a background in oncology and immunology, and her current research centres on the immune response to high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infections in order to develop therapeutic strategies to enhance immunity against HPV, particularly to prevent cervical cancer

Abstract:
This talk by Gemma and Karin will explore T-cell dynamics in high-risk HPV (hrHPV) infections, focusing on immune responses that facilitate virus clearance and inform therapeutic vaccine design. They will discuss findings from a longitudinal study analysing HPV-specific T cell responses and highlight the therapeutic HPV vaccine they developed, which has entered a clinical trial with Dr. Hellner as Chief Investigator. Insights from this work aim to inform next-generation treatments that could intercept HPV progression to cervical cancer.