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The Institute for Infection and Immunity
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  1. Uniting Clinical Practice with Research
Infection and Immunity

Uniting Clinical Practice with Research

Close integration with St George's Hospital, clinicians and public health physicians ensures that the institute's research addresses clinical priorities.

Close integration with St George’s Hospital, clinicians and public health physicians ensures that the institute’s research addresses clinical priorities.

Sharing the same site in south west London, the Institute for Infection and Immunity and St George's Hospital work closely together to ensure new knowledge and technologies generated by research are quickly applied in a clinical setting.

As an indicator of this close integration, about a half of our principal investigators hold honorary clinical contracts at St George’s Hospital – one of the UK’s leading teaching hospitals, with more than 1000 beds. Many other hospital clinicians advise and contribute to our research.

Expertise in adult and paediatric infectious disease

Key clinical facilities include the specialist adult and paediatric infection units, which are run by clinical academics based in the institute. The paediatric unit is a paediatric infectious disease referral centre and a UK Centre of Excellence in the treatment of complex infections in children. Both units incorporate purpose-built specialist infectious disease wards, with negative-pressure rooms for containment isolation. We diagnose and treat a diverse range of infections from all over the world, reflecting the internationally diverse community we serve.

We also carry out many clinical trials in paediatric and adult patients. A key resource for clinical translation of our research is St George’s Vaccine Institute – a specialist academic-led facility, specifically focusing on phase I-III clinical trials of paediatric and adult vaccines.

Integration with clinical microbiology

Close links exist between clinical infection services and the institute’s microbiology research laboratories, providing access to important clinical isolates. Following the creation of a pathology hub at St George’s Hospital, linking hospitals and primary care centres in south west London, more than a million samples a year are now being analysed.

Other medical specialities

We also have strong ties with other clinical areas, such as oncology, respiratory medicine and genito-urinary medicine. As well as exploring the immunological basis of disease in these areas, this research provides new insight into infections in patients with underlying health conditions.

Wider networking

The institute belongs to the South London National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) and leads its infection theme.

We also have well-established links to Public Health England. Furthermore, our scientists are engaged in national policy and government strategy for several areas of infection.

A platform for clinical application

Our infrastructure facilitates a wide range of studies focused on clinical application in diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccinology. In the Centre for Diagnostics and Antimicrobial Resistance, multiple diagnostic approaches are being developed and evaluated for use in the UK and developing world. A number of potential new therapeutics have emerged from our research. We are leading and contributing to multiple national and international trials to improve use of anti-infective drugs. Our research also has impact on vaccine development, not only for infectious diseases but also as a route to innovative cancer treatments.