London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Beate is one of 50 new Fellows who have been selected for this prestigious Fellowship. Awarded annually, they recognise exceptional contributions to the advancement of medical science through innovative research discoveries, and translating scientific developments into benefits for patients and the wider society.

Trained as a clinician-scientist in paediatric infectious diseases, Professor Kampmann was appointed as Theme Leader for Vaccines & Immunity research at the MRC Unit The Gambia at the LSHTM in July 2010. Having worked at Imperial College for over 20 years she took up a position at LSHTM as Professor in Paediatric Infection & Immunity and Director of The Vaccine Centre in 2018.

Beate’s vaccine-related work focuses on applying systems vaccinology tools to improve our insights into the development of the neonatal immune system, in the context of infections and vaccination and through the conduct of clinical studies and trials.

Her aim is to link scientific discoveries in the laboratory to the delivery of evidence-based care for children in the UK and Africa. In The Gambia, she directs multiple projects and clinical trials exploring maternal and infant immunisation as a tool to decrease infant morbidity and mortality and leads the childhood TB program.

As Director of the Vaccine Centre Beate has led the Centre’s strategic direction since July 2018. She and brought together over 200 LSHTM investigators in vaccine-related research at LSHTM with national and international partners and agencies under the themes of innovation, application, evaluation. An explicit mission of the Centre is also to illustrate the incredible value of vaccines to global health through public engagement.

Professor Beate Kampmann said: “Having worked on childhood tuberculosis and lately on vaccine development, clinical trials and the value of vaccines in society, my heart has always been in issues that affect Global Health. To see collaborative science projects and the careers of my international group of trainees come to fruition is definitely my highlight.

“I am honoured to be awarded this prestigious Fellowship by the Academy in a year that has been shaped by major global health concerns.”

The Academy’s 2021 new Fellows include Professor Sarah Gilbert who led the team at the University of Oxford that developed the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, and Professor Jonathan Nguyen-Van-Tam, the UK Government’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer.

Professor Dame Anne Johnson PMedSci, President of the Academy of Medical Sciences, said: “I am truly delighted to welcome these 50 new Fellows to the Academy’s Fellowship, and I offer my congratulations to each of them on their exceptional contribution to biomedical and health science. The knowledge, skill and influence that each brings to the Fellowship is the Academy’s most powerful asset.

“The last year has clearly demonstrated the power and prowess of UK biomedical science, and I am proud of how many Fellows, new and old, have been at the forefront of the COVID-19 response in the UK and globally. Although it is hard to look beyond the pandemic right now, I want to stress how important it is that the Academy Fellowship represents the widest diversity of biomedical and health sciences. The greatest health advances rely on the findings of many types of research, and on multidisciplinary teams and cross-sector and global collaboration.”

In 2020, LSHTM Professors Pontiano Kaleebu and Helen Weiss were elected as Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences. They joined Professor John Edmunds and Liz Corbett (2018) and Professors Joy Lawn and Liam Smeeth (2016).