Federica Cappuccini

I have studied biology at "Roma Tre" University in Rome and obtained my PhD degree at the University of Duisburg-Essen in the summer of 2013. 

With my main scientific interests being cancer, immunology and virology, I wanted to contribute to a project that could directly translate research in a clinical setting. Thus, I joined the prostate cancer vaccine program at the Jenner Institute in September 2013.

Working on a EU funded project to develop an effective vaccine against prostate cancer, we have started and completed a phase I clinical trial in low-intermediate risk prostate cancer patients receiving viral vectored vaccines targeting the tumour associated antigen 5T4. Subsequently, we have run a phase I/II clinical trial in intermediate risk and advanced metastatic prostate cancer patients receiving the same vaccines in combination with PD-1 checkpoint blockade. My work has also included comparative immunogenicity and efficacy assessments of a range of new and old cancer antigens in pre-clinical models of prostate cancer using viral vectored vaccines and checkpoint inhibitors. These studies aimed at the identification of the most effective antigen(s) and combination therapies for further clinical development.

Since February 2021, I have joined the Emerging Pathogens Group of Prof Lambe and Dame Prof Sarah Gilbert. Here, I work as a senior immunologist and oversee the COVID trial vaccine team testing immune responses induced by the vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19. In particular, we are interested in the magnitude and longevity of cellular and antibody responses after vaccination, both in adults and in kids. Alongside, we are engaged with research on SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern.

Key Publications

Cappuccini F, Bryant R, Pollock E, Carter L, Verrill C, Hollidge J, Poulton I,  Baker M, Mitton C, Baines A, Meier A, Schmidt G, Harrop R, Protheroe A,  MacPherson R,  Kennish S, Morgan S, Vigano S,  Romero PJ, Evans T, Catto J, Hamdy F, Hill AVS, Redchenko I. Safety and immunogenicity of novel 5T4 viral vectored vaccination regimens in early stage prostate cancer: a phase I clinical trial. Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer 2020;8:e000928. doi: 10.1136/jitc-2020-000928

Cappuccini F, Pollock E, Stribbling S, Hill AVS, Redchenko I. 5T4 oncofoetal glycoprotein: an old target for a novel prostate cancer immunotherapy. Oncotarget. 2017 Jul 18;8(29):47474-47489.

Cappuccini F, Stribbling S, Pollock E, Hill AV, Redchenko I. Immunogenicity and efficacy of the novel cancer vaccine based on simian adenovirus and MVA vectors alone and in combination with PD-1 mAb in a mouse model of prostate cancer. Cancer Immunol Immunother. 2016 Jun;65(6):701-13.

PM Folegatti, KJ Ewer, PK Aley, B Angus, S Becker, S Belij-Rammerstorfer, D Bellamy, S Bibi, M Bittaye, EA Clutterbuck, C Dold, SN Faust, A Finn, AL Flaxman, B Hallis, P Heath, D Jenkin, R Lazarus, R Makinson, AM Minassian, KM Pollock, M Ramasamy, H Robinson, M Snape, R Tarrant, M Voysey, C Green, AD Douglas, AVS Hill, T Lambe, SC Gilbert, AJ Pollard, Oxford COVID Vaccine Trial Group. Safety and immunogenicity of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine against SARS-CoV-2: a preliminary report of a phase 1/2, single-blind, randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2020 Aug 15;396(10249):467-478.

KJ Ewer, JR Barrett, S Belij-Rammerstorfer, H Sharpe, R Makinson, R Morter, A Flaxman, D Wright, D Bellamy, M Bittaye, C Dold, NM Provine, J Aboagye, J Fowler, SE Silk, J Alderson PK Aley, B Angus, E Berrie, S Bibi, P Cicconi, EA Clutterbuck, I Chelysheva, PM Folegatti, M Fuskova, CM Green, D Jenkin, S Kerridge, A Lawrie, AM Minassian, M Moore, Y Mujadidi, E Plested, I Poulton, MN Ramasamy, H Robinson, R Song, MD Snape, R Tarrant, M Voysey, MEE Watson, AD Douglas, AVS Hill, SC Gilbert, AJ Pollard, T Lambe, Oxford COVID Vaccine Trial Group. T cell and antibody responses induced by a single dose of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD1222) vaccine in a phase 1/2 clinical trial. Nat Med. 2021 Feb;27(2):270-278. doi: 10.1038/s41591-020-01194-5.

M Voysey, SA Costa Clemens, SA Madhi, LY Weckx, PM Folegatti, PK Aley, B Angus, VL Baillie, SL Barnabas, QE Bhorat, S Bibi, C Briner, P Cicconi, AM Collins, R Colin-Jones, CL Cutland, TC Darton, K Dheda, CJA Duncan, KRW Emary, KJ Ewer, L Fairlie, SN Faust, S Feng, DM Ferreira, A Finn, AL Goodman, CM Green, CA Green, PT Heath, C Hill, H Hill, I Hirsch, SHC Hodgson, A Izu, S Jackson, D Jenkin, CCD Joe, S Kerridge, A Koen, G Kwatra, R Lazarus, AM Lawrie, A Lelliott, V Libri, PJ Lillie, R Mallory, AVA Mendes, EP Milan, AM Minassian, A McGregor, H Morrison, YF Mujadidi, A Nana, PJ O'Reilly, SD Padayachee, A Pittella, E Plested, KM Pollock , MN Ramasamy, S Rhead, AV Schwarzbold, N Singh, A Smith, R Song, MD Snape, E Sprinz, RK Sutherland, R Tarrant, EC Thomson, M Estée Török, M Toshner, DPJ Turner, J Vekemans, TL Villafana, MEE Watson, CJ Williams, AD Douglas, AVS Hill, T Lambe, SC Gilbert, AJ Pollard, Oxford COVID Vaccine Trial Group. Safety and efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine (AZD1222) against SARS-CoV-2: an interim analysis of four randomised controlled trials in Brazil, South Africa, and the UK. Lancet. 2021 Jan 9;397(10269):99-111. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32661-1.

F Cappuccini, J Kopycinski, R Tanner. Chapter 13: Therapeutic vaccines. Drug Discovery and Development E-Book: Technology in Transition. Raymond G Hill, Duncan Richards. Elsevier Health Sciences, 16 May 2021.

Frater J, Ewer KJ, Ogbe A, Pace M, Adele S, Adland E, Alagaratnam J, Aley PK, Ali M, Ansari MA, Bara A, Bittaye M, Broadhead S, Brown A, Brown H, Cappuccini F, Cooney E, Dejnirattisai W, Dold C, Fairhead C, Fok H, Folegatti PM, Fowler J, Gibbs C, Goodman AL, Jenkin D, Jones M, Makinson R, Marchevsky NG, Mujadidi YF, Nguyen H, Parolini L, Petersen C, Plested E, Pollock KM, Ramasamy MN, Rhead S, Robinson H, Robinson N, Rongkard P, Ryan F, Serrano S, Tipoe T, Voysey M, Waters A, Zacharopoulou P, Barnes E, Dunachie S, Goulder P, Klenerman P, Screaton GR, Winston A, Hill AVS, Gilbert SC, Pollard AJ, Fidler S, Fox J, Lambe T, Watson MEE, Song R, Cicconi P, Minassian AM, Bibi S, Kerridge S, Singh N, Green CM, Douglas AD, Lawrie AM, Clutterbuck EA. Safety and immunogenicity of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD1222) vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 in HIV infection: a single-arm substudy of a phase 2/3 clinical trial. Lancet HIV. Published Online June 18, 2021. doi.org/10.1016/S2352-3018(21)00103-X