Rate My Professor Ryan Thwaites

Dr Ryan Thwaites is an Associate Professor in Respiratory Immunology within the National Heart and Lung Institute, Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London. He completed his BSc in Biochemistry at the University of Sheffield and earned his PhD at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, where his research examined innate immunity in autoimmune disease. Thwaites joined Imperial College London in 2015 to work on human experimental medicine studies investigating respiratory infections. He was appointed Lecturer in Respiratory Immunology in October 2021 and promoted to Associate Professor in 2025, reflecting his impactful contributions to mucosal immunology research.

Thwaites' research investigates the innate immune system during the early stages of viral respiratory infections, with a particular emphasis on mucosal immunity in the upper airway. His work aims to develop improved vaccines and therapies for respiratory pathogens including influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, and SARS-CoV-2, using human challenge models and analysis of clinical samples. Key publications include 'Early mucosal events promote distinct mucosal and systemic antibody responses to live attenuated influenza vaccine' (Nature Communications, 2023), 'Absorption of Nasal and Bronchial Fluids: Precision Sampling of the URT and LRT of Human Subjects' (American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2018), 'Procalcitonin Is Not a Reliable Biomarker of Bacterial Coinfection in People with Coronavirus Disease 2019 Undergoing Microbiological Investigation' (Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 2022), and contributions to studies on IL-33 in COPD and neutrophil recruitment in influenza infections. With more than 16,700 citations on Google Scholar and 132 publications listed on his Imperial profile, Thwaites' research has significantly advanced understanding of respiratory immunopathology, protective immunity, and disease susceptibility. He contributes to postdoctoral support initiatives at the National Heart and Lung Institute and participates in collaborative projects such as those funded by the Human Infection Challenge - Vaccine Acceleration consortium.