A humble honour

When asked how it felt to receive such a prestigious appointment, Professor Barclay reflects on the honour with humility. "Of course, very humbled," she shares. "There are many people, both at Imperial and around the UK, for whom such an honour would be appropriate. So, I’m very grateful to be recognised in this way.”

Despite the recognition, she remains deeply aware of the collective efforts that drive the field of infectious disease research. As Regius Professor, she is determined to represent not just Imperial but the UK infectious disease community, using her platform to amplify the voices of scientists working on the front lines: “I think a title like this carries a sense of seniority and gravitas, granting you a seat at the table for important discussions and enabling you to contribute your knowledge for good in the world.”

Breakthrough
discoveries and
real-world impact

Professor Barclay’s career is rooted in a deep desire to tackle the problems brought by viral pandemics. "I want to understand pandemic viruses, in particular, respiratory viruses that cause pandemics," she explains. From her early work on common cold viruses, she moved on to influenza—the world’s most significant pandemic threat. Her research has evolved to tackle the broader questions of how pandemic viruses emerge, spread, and, ultimately, how we might prevent their potentially devastating effects. "How does a virus jump from animals into humans? How does it transmit between us and cause the disease it does? And then how can we stop all of that happening?" she asks, framing the central challenge of her career.

One of the most notable discoveries in Professor Barclay's career is the identification of a key host factor, the ANP32A protein, that impacts whether viruses in birds can transmit into humans. “For me, that is my lab’s biggest achievement," she says. The finding offers key insights into how influenza viruses replicate inside cells, and she hopes it will pave the way for novel interventions that disrupt this critical virus-host interaction.

But perhaps her proudest accomplishment is the impact she’s had on the next generation of scientists. Through her mentorship and leadership, many of her former students have gone on to make significant contributions to science, working in government agencies like the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Centre for Research on Influenza, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), and in science institutes such as the Pirbright Virology Institute and the Roslin Institute. "To see them doing fantastic research and shaping policy is something I’m immensely proud of. They’re making real-world differences on the ground, and I’m grateful to have been involved in the early parts of their careers," she says.

Next-generation vaccines and synthetic biology

Looking to the future, Professor Barclay is most excited about the global challenges in infectious disease research, particularly in tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR). "It’s very exciting that Imperial is part of the Fleming Initiative and we'll be playing a big role in solving problems that come with AMR," she says.

Professor Barclay also believes there is still much progress to be made in vaccine development. “The COVID-19 mRNA vaccine revolution has been huge, but significant challenges remain for this and other emerging technologies in the fight against infectious diseases,” she explains.

Another transformative area of infectious disease research at Imperial is rapid diagnostics. “We’ve got people in the department working with principal investigators in other faculties who are inventing new ways of diagnosing diseases very quickly,” she notes. “Accessible and easy-to-use diagnostics were a game changer during COVID-19. Before the next pandemic, I hope we can use these ‘peace time’ years to develop diagnostics suitable for other pathogens.”

Beyond vaccines and diagnostics, Professor Barclay sees synthetic biology as an exciting frontier in infectious disease science. “Because we know the genetic codes for entire bacteria and viruses, we can manipulate them in the lab and engineer them in ways that allow us to understand them better,” she says. “Such approaches can lead to new types of vaccines and allow us to harness pathogens as tools. There are huge advances to be made, and it’s an area with very direct translational impact.”

However, she also stresses the importance of maintaining a balance between applied research and outside-the-box thinking. “At Imperial we are indeed very good at producing translational research,” she says, “but we also need to maintain and encourage ‘blue sky’ thinking—keeping open minds about what we do and don’t know and continuing to discover.”

The power of human challenge studies

Another aspect of Professor Barclay’s work has been her contribution to human challenge studies. These controlled experiments, where healthy volunteers are deliberately exposed to pathogens to study disease progression and immune response, have been pivotal for understanding infection dynamics. “We are the only team in the world that has conducted a COVID-19 human challenge study,” she notes with pride. “And now members of the department are continuing to apply this approach to other pathogens including bacteria.”

Despite its long history—dating back to Professor Barclay’s early work at what was then the Common Cold Unit in Salisbury—human challenge studies have evolved significantly. “We no longer just transfer nasal secretions from one person to another!” she jokes. “Now, everything is rigorously tested to ensure safety and ethical compliance.”

Looking to the future, she envisions a state-of-the-art human challenge facility that can closely monitor airborne pathogen transmission, offering critical insights into preventing infectious diseases at their source. “Blocking transmission is at the root of everything,” she asserts. “If we can stop people from spreading their infections, we can stop outbreaks before they begin.”