Dr James Gilchirst

James is a consultant in paediatric infectious diseases at the Children’s Hospital in Oxford. Alongside his clinical role, James works as clinician scientist, leading a group within the Oxford Vaccine Group at the University of Oxford. This group uses human genetics as a tool to better understand the causes and consequences of infection childhood. 

Most infectious exposures result in trivial illness requiring no treatment. For some children, however, an infectious exposure can result in life-threatening illness. Inherited differences in children’s genes underlie some of this variability, and by studying the genetics of infection susceptibility in childhood, this group hope to better-understand which children are at risk of serious infection and why that is the case.