Dr Theocharis Tsoleridis

Theocharis Tsoleridis obtained his BBSRC-DTP funded PhD in Molecular Virology from the University of Nottingham in 2018. During his PhD, he discovered novel alphacoronaviruses in European rodents and studied their origins and evolution, revealing their globally shared ancestry.

Theo continued his career as a Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham from 2018 to 2024, working on viral immunology-related projects. The main focus of his postdoctoral research was to develop a platform for generating bovine monoclonal antibodies against emerging viruses, such as Lassa Fever virus and SARS-CoV-2, to be used as potential therapeutics for humans. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Theo was involved in the development and validation of two candidate vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, as well as investigating immune responses against the virus in a cohort of vaccinated healthcare workers, demonstrating that multiple exposures to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein enhance antibody responses.
 

In 2024, Theo joined the Immunogenetics group at The Pirbright Institute as a Senior Postdoctoral Scientist to leverage his expertise in bovine antibody responses. His current work focuses on bovine humoral responses against Foot and Mouth Disease virus (FMDV), B-cell development in neonatal calves, B-cell transcriptomics, and in vitro antibody affinity maturation.