Katrina Pollock
MA(Cantab) MBBS DipGUM DipHIV DCSRH PhD FRCP
MRC Clinician Scientist in Vaccinology
- Chief investigator for the MRC UKRI Lymph nodE single-cell Genomics AnCestrY immunity, infection, inflammation and immunisation (LEGACY IIII) Network.
- Associate Director (People and Culture) Oxford Vaccine Group.
- Honorary Consultant in Sexual and Reproductive Health.
Human lymph node immunology.
Biography
Katrina Pollock is Associate Director (People and Culture) at the Oxford Vaccine Group and an MRC Clinician Scientist in Vaccinology. She is an Honorary Consultant in Sexual and Reproductive Health at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
She leads Lymph Node Research UK Home | Lymph Node Research UK, funded by the Medical Research Council (UKRI) bringing together researchers across the UK to advance understanding of lymph nodes, which are critical to protection from infection and cancer but remain one of the least well characterised human tissues.
Katrina studied medicine at Newnham College, University of Cambridge, and Imperial College London, before completing specialty training as a clinician scientist in genitourinary and HIV medicine. She went on to earn a PhD in immunology and a lectureship, leading a series of first-in-human vaccine trials, including novel COVID-19 vaccines at Imperial College London. Her contributions during the pandemic were recognised with an award for substantial and exceptional achievement.
Her research focuses on the lymph node response to immunisation, uncovering mechanisms of vaccine immunogenicity in diverse populations to inform the development of next-generation vaccines. She is committed to involving research participants and the wider public at every stage, ensuring that innovative science translates into real-world benefit.
Recent publications
"I would walk through fire to get this vaccine": a mixed-methods study examining attitudes and perceptions of a gonorrhoea vaccine programme among UK sexual health service users.
Journal article
Firth C. et al, (2026), BMJ Public Health, 4
"I would walk through fire to get this vaccine": a mixed-methods study examining attitudes and perceptions of a gonorrhoea vaccine programme among UK sexual health service users
Conference paper
Firth C. et al, (2026), HIV MEDICINE, 27, 163 - 164
Early lymph node T follicular helper cell signalling hub drives influenza vaccine response in an ancestrally diverse cohort.
Journal article
Siu JHY. et al, (2025), EBioMedicine, 122
Gonorrhoea vaccination strategies should take into account all at risk and the potential for severe sequelae in women.
Journal article
Freeman-Romilly N. et al, (2025), BMJ, 390

