Q&A: Human Challenge Studies of COVID-19 Underway in UK

Researchers at Imperial College London and the University of Oxford are exposing healthy volunteers to SARS-CoV-2 for science.

Written byJef Akst

| 4 min read

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When the SARS-CoV-2 began circulating around the globe last year, researchers familiar with the concept of challenge trials considered the idea of deliberately infecting humans with the virus in a controlled manner to learn more about this novel pathogen. Now, two such trials are underway in the UK, one aimed at determining the best dose for causing infection but not making volunteers too sick, and another at understanding their immune response to the virus.

The Scientist spoke with Helen McShane, a vaccine researcher at the University of Oxford who is heading up one of the trials, about the logistics, hurdles, and value of this research.

Helen McShane: I’ve spent twenty years working on tuberculosis and TB vaccine development. And for the last five years, I’ve been working on developing a controlled human infection model for TB. I work at Oxford, where we have a very well-established ...

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
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Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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