Daniel O'Connor
BSc AFHEA MSc DPhil (OXON)
Associate Professor | Head of Bioinformatics
Daniel has both a wet-laboratory and bioinformatics background, his main research interests relate to the analysis of contemporary, high-dimensional datasets (e.g. genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic) to elucidate the molecular determinants of vaccine responses.
UTILISING THE SYSTEMS TOOLKIT TO ELUCIDATE THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING RESPONSES TO INFANT IMMUNISATION
Vaccine responses and the persistence of vaccine-immunity vary considerably between individuals, this is particularly relevant in childhood, as infants generally have lower magnitude immune responses that wane more rapidly than adults. My research utilises contemporary methods, such as genome-wide genotyping and next-generation sequencing, to explore the mechanisms underlying immunological and physiological responses to childhood vaccinations.
Key publications
Multi-omics analysis reveals COVID-19 vaccine induced attenuation of inflammatory responses during breakthrough disease.
Journal article
Drury RE. et al, (2024), Nat Commun, 15
Molecular correlates of vaccine-induced protection against typhoid fever.
Journal article
Zhu H. et al, (2023), J Clin Invest, 133
Human leukocyte antigen alleles associate with COVID-19 vaccine immunogenicity and risk of breakthrough infection.
Journal article
Mentzer AJ. et al, (2023), Nat Med, 29, 147 - 157
Gene expression profiling reveals insights into infant immunological and febrile responses to group B meningococcal vaccine.
Journal article
O'Connor D. et al, (2020), Mol Syst Biol, 16
Common Genetic Variations Associated with the Persistence of Immunity following Childhood Immunization.
Journal article
O'Connor D. et al, (2019), Cell Rep, 27, 3241 - 3253.e4
Recent publications
Typhoid toxin of Salmonella Typhi elicits host antimicrobial response during acute typhoid fever.
Journal article
Srour S. et al, (2026), EMBO Mol Med, 18, 187 - 216
Ethics review of AI research: an approach to reviewing and revising existing governance structures
Journal article
Melham K. and Ten Holter C., (2025), Research Ethics
Immunity to Streptococcus pyogenes and Common Respiratory Viruses at Age 0 to 4 Years After COVID-19 Restrictions.
Journal article
Dokal K. et al, (2025), JAMA Netw Open, 8
Salmonella Typhi gut invasion drives hypoxic immune subsets associated with disease outcomes.
Journal article
Bossel Ben-Moshe N. et al, (2025), Nat Commun, 16
Prediction and characterisation of the human B cell response to a heterologous two-dose Ebola vaccine.
Journal article
O'Connor D. et al, (2025), Nat Commun, 16