We are delighted to announce that this year’s Sparks Young Investigator of the Year, awarded in conjunction with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, is Dr Manish Sadarangani, a Clinical Lecturer and Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunology at The Children’s Hospital, Oxford.
Dr Sadarangani’s research has primarily focussed in two related areas: development and assessment of childhood vaccines, particularly for meningococcal disease (a major cause of meningitis and blood poisoning) and better diagnosis and treatment of childhood brain infections – meningitis and encephalitis.
His DPhil (an advanced research degree) project in 2007-2011 in Oxford involved a new approach to developing a meningococcal vaccine by targeting proteins of the bacteria, and has contributed important knowledge about how these kinds of vaccines work. He then worked in Canada, carrying out research which demonstrated the impact of the MenC vaccine in reducing meningococcal disease and research on the after effects of meningococcal disease. Since returning to Oxford in 2013 he has been using cutting edge technology looking at which genes are switched ‘on’ and ‘off’ after vaccination. This will help to understand how the immune system responds to vaccines and could improve design of future vaccines.
Since 2011, Dr Sadarangani has expanded his research to childhood brain infections – meningitis (infection of the lining around the brain) and encephalitis (infection of the brain itself). He has been co-ordinating a UK-wide study in 30 hospitals investigating the causes, symptoms and after effects of meningitis, and is designing a new test to try and identify the causes of meningitis in the 40% of children who do not have a cause found using current tests. He is also an investigator in a major clinical trial trying to find out whether intravenous immunoglobulin (antibody treatment) has any benefit for children with encephalitis.
Other research Dr Sadarangani has done includes looking at the influence of ‘good bacteria’ in the gut on infection and immunity and investigating how antibiotics are used in hospitals to figure out how to use them better and reduce antibiotic resistance.
Young Investigator of the Year award is a competitive scheme where a doctor, who is undertaking research, is awarded a trophy and funds of £1,000 (£500 for the investigator and £500 for their department) for excellence in their research area.