The Jenner Institute was founded in November 2005 to develop innovative vaccines against major global diseases.  Uniquely it focuses both on diseases of humans and livestock and tests new vaccine approaches in parallel in different species. A major theme is translational research involving the rapid early-stage development and assessment of new vaccines in clinical trials.

Jenner Institute Investigators, through the support of many funders, are now developing promising new vaccine candidates against major global infectious diseases.  New vaccines against malaria, tuberculosis and HIV are in field trials in the developing world.  Research is also underway on livestock vaccines against foot and mouth disease, avian influenza, bovine tuberculosis and other major causes of economic loss. The clinical activities of the Institute are at the Centre for Clinical Vaccinology and Tropical Medicine, with strong links to units in developing countries.

The Institute is a partnership between the University of Oxford and the Institute for Animal Health and is the successor to the former Edward Jenner Institute for Vaccine Research. The Institute is supported by the Jenner Vaccine Foundation, a UK registered charity and advised by the Jenner Institute Scientific Advisory Board.

The Institute comprises the research activities of over 20 Jenner Investigators who head leading research groups spanning human and veterinary vaccine research and development.  Together the Institute Investigators comprise one of the largest non-profit sector research and development activities in vaccinology.