‘I’ve always believed in the power of science’

Eleanor Riley, Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the University of Edinburgh, believes we can learn a lot from 2020.

Igrew up surrounded by science and medicine. My father was a veterinary surgeon and my mother was a medical social worker. We lived in the Oxfordshire countryside and I loved spending time outdoors, fascinated by wildlife and nature. Now, I realise that was the beginning of my lifelong interest in biology. When my parents saw that this was a genuine enthusiasm, they encouraged me. My dad would pass on biology books, which I pored over. At 18, I went to the University of Bristol to study veterinary science and cell biology. I remember looking down a microscope and realising how intricate and perfectly adapted living things are.

Inspired, I continued to specialise after my degree. Following a year as a graduate trainee at Cornell University, New York, I did a PHD in immunology at Liverpool. I’ve more or less stayed in academia ever since. The time I spent at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine was a highlight; the people I worked with there were fantastic. I’ve also had the opportunity to live and work in Africa and to study malaria vaccines.

In 2017, I was appointed director of the Roslin Institute, an animal sciences research organisation based in Edinburgh. I was in this role for three years before moving to the University of Edinburgh’s School of Immunology and Infection Research in February 2020 to become a full-time research professor. Here, I write research grant applications, supervise research and analyse data.

What’s special about working in a university is that you’re always coming into contact with students who renew your enthusiasm for the subject. When I was a student, I remember a lecturer saying: ‘Viruses know more about the human immune system than we do.’ That stuck with me. The pandemic has certainly made it an interesting time to be in my field. I’ve always done advisory work for organisations such as the Medical Research Council, so I’ve been busy during the crisis.

I’m also part of the UK Vaccine Network, a steering group set up in 2015 of vaccine manufacturers, immunologists, biologists and infectious disease experts. We were tasked with horizon-scanning; scientists had been warning that something like Covid-19 could happen for decades. We kick-started programmes looking at approaches to vaccine manufacturing, one of which has followed through into the Imperial College vaccine and another to the Oxford vaccine.

I’m delighted about the effective vaccines scientists have produced, but not surprised. Coronavirus as a challenge for vaccine-makers is not a particularly difficult one, but the speed at which the scientific community has worked has been inspiring. I hope we take this new way of working forward as we move back to a more normal way of life. These vaccines have given us the key to opening up society.

The pandemic has demonstrated something I always knew to be true; the power of science. People who had never thought about science have been hanging on scientists’ every word. Covid-19 has been challenging for society, but I hope the silver lining will be that it inspires the next generation to realise how much of a difference science makes to our lives.

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These vaccines have given us the key to opening society