Graphic of half a amoeba with a teal and purple gradient making up the other halfGraphic of half a amoeba

Opportunity space

Sculpting Innate Immunity

Sustained Viral Resilience

Backed by £57m, this programme sits within the Sculpting Innate Immunity opportunity space and seeks to create a new class of medicines that provide durable, broad-spectrum protection against respiratory viruses by engineering the innate immune system.

Meet the R&D Creators

We’re funding 11 teams to create sustained innate immunoprophylactics (SIIPs): a new class of medicines that provide durable, broad-spectrum protection against respiratory viruses by engineering the innate immune system.

This portfolio cuts across three Technical Areas: Explorers, Accelerators, and Translators. Together, they’ll design, build, and test SIIP candidates; develop the tools and platforms to accelerate the process of bringing these candidates to proof-of-concept; and facilitate SIIPs’ future clinical translation and commercialisation.

TA1 | Explorers

We’re funding seven teams to design, build, and test SIIP candidates, providing proof-of-concept evidence that this new class of medicines is possible.

Active

Towards a universal vaccine: inducing durable immunity that transcends pathogen boundaries

Bali Pulendran, Stanford University

Active

epiPRIME: epigenetically programmed resilience through innate memory engineering

Chiara Herzog, University of Cambridge

Active

ASPIRE: anti-sense mediated state programming for respiratory epithelial defence

Thushan de Silva, University of Sheffield

Active

AEGIS: anti-viral engineered opsonin based innate immune shielding

Aaron Scott, University of Birmingham

Active

TRIUMPH-NK

Salim Khakoo, University of Southampton

Active

MAGIC: MAIT cell activation to generate innate control

Paul Klenerman, University of Oxford

Active

Development of synthetic MDA5 agonists to provide sustained innate immunity

Jan Rehwinkel, University of Oxford

Balipulendran

“Our goal is to provide broad, long-lasting protection against multiple respiratory pathogens. ARIA's vision and support create a unique opportunity to translate a fundamentally new concept in immunology from the laboratory into human studies, with the potential to transform global health and pandemic preparedness.”

Bali Pulendran

Stanford University

Opportunity spaces

We help exceptional scientists and engineers turn their ideas into reality.

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Funding at ARIA

Learn more about how we fund and explore our funding opportunities.

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