Alejandro Diaz-Hernandez

I am a DPhil Candidate in Clinical Medicine at the Jenner Institute, where my research focuses on the development of mRNA vaccines for arthropod-borne pathogens under the supervision of Dr Cesar Lopez-Camacho, Prof Adrian Hill and Dr William Taylor. My work covers antigen design for KFDV, bacterial and tick antigens, cloning, recombinant protein production, mRNA manufacture, lipid nanoparticle formulation, pseudotype neutralisation, in vivo immunogenicity studies, and structural approaches to tick-antigen characterisation. In parallel, I teach and tutor sporadically on the MSc in Applied Cancer Sciences at Oxford.

For my DPhil studies, I was awarded the Oxford NDM Tropical Network Fund scholarship in 2023, together with an ESRU Foundation and a BUAP DGI scholarship. I was also recognised with the highly competitive Gustav Born Award from St Peter’s College, Oxford in 2025.

My interest in vaccinology began during my training in Mexico. In 2017, I was awarded the PAME Exchange Full Scholarship to study at the Universidad Nacional de Asunción in Paraguay. I later completed both a BSc in Biotechnology and an MSc in Medical Microbiology at Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla. During my undergraduate studies, I conducted several internships, including morphological analysis of neurons, detection and standardisation of HPV genotypes, and a thesis on the development of a protein-based vaccine against T. cruzi. My MSc, supported by a two-year CONACYT Fellowship, focused on the development of an epitope-based mRNA vaccine through in silico analysis against Chagas disease.

Alongside research, I have developed teaching, communication, and leadership experience through academic outreach and organising events across Oxford and beyond. I enjoy working across disciplines and translating ideas from early-stage design into practical experimental outcomes.