Published: 17 March 2022
Professor Rajko Reljic will be giving his inaugural lecture at St George’s, University of London on Monday 21 March. Inaugural lectures offer newly arrived or promoted professors the opportunity to introduce themselves, update colleagues on current and future plans, and share their work with wider audiences.
Professor Reljic is a Professor of Immunology at St George’s and devotes his research towards vaccine development and immunotherapy for tuberculosis. He is also the Section Head for Immunology and Host Response within the Institute for Infection and Immunity.
We caught up with Professor Reljic to hear his reflections before his inaugural lecture and to understand a bit more about his background in academia and beyond.
Developing a new type of vaccine
As an immunologist by training, Professor Reljic’s research focus is in infectious diseases, with particular attention paid to tuberculosis and more recently, dengue infection and Covid-19.
“My particular interest is in respiratory delivery of vaccines and immunotherapies. These could be administered through the nose or through the mouth,” he says.
Professor Reljic has built his international reputation around aerosolised treatment delivery against infectious diseases, and is currently leading on studies to demonstrate the feasibility of the approach for vaccines.
So far, the research group has had considerable success in testing the vaccines in preclinical models, but the next step is to get the candidates into clinical trials in people.
“We achieved good responses in animal studies,” he says.
“There is great potential in delivering respiratory vaccines, matching the route of vaccine with the route of infection.”
The idea is to induce a greater immune response directly in the tissues and organs that are affected by infections, to allow for vaccinations to work better and more efficiently.
Delivering vaccinations through this route could also have the potential to reduce vaccine hesitancy.
“Large populations, children especially can be afraid of needles,” explains Professor Reljic. “So respiratory vaccines should be much easier to administer and hopefully would increase uptake.
Setting up a new course at St George’s
As well as spending time in the lab, Professor Reljic has provided a significant contribution to teaching at St George’s. Before taking on the role of Section Head within the Institute for Infection and Immunity, he was the Director of the MRes course in Biomedical Sciences at St George’s, having helped to set the course up in the first place.
“I’m very proud of the course, which is one of the oldest Master’s courses at the university,” he says. “It’s still going very strong and we’ve had a lot of students who have gone on to have great careers after graduating.”
Becoming a professor
For Professor Reljic, being awarded a professorship has been the next step in his career, cementing the recognition his work has received both nationally and internationally.
“It reassures me I’m on the right track,” he says.
“I was pretty certain I wanted to make a career in immunology after my PhD, and for the last twenty years, that’s what I’ve been doing. It’s great to know that your work is being appreciated.”
When speaking on his motivations, it’s clear that a passion for the subject has been a critical part of Professor Reljic’s successes so far.
“I love my job. I love immunology,” he says. “It’s still very encouraging to see the progress we make every day. I speak to the people in my research group and we discuss the way forward, with each day bringing a new promise that we will get closer to our big objectives. It’s a challenge, but it’s also something that entices me to start every new day with a promise of making further progress.”
Reflecting on a career
Before coming to St George’s, Professor Reljic began his career studying in what was Yugoslavia, leaving the country to come to the UK during the civil war in the 1990s.
Overcoming personal tragedies as a result of the war in his home country, Professor Reljic can look back on his time in the UK with positivity.
“My early career didn’t really follow a conventional path,” he says. “With the civil war in my country, it took everything in unexpected directions, so there were a few stops and starts.
“But I’m really pleased that even with those issues, I’ve managed to succeed in my professional career to get to where I am now,” he adds.
After completing his PhD, Professor Reljic worked at King’s College, London and the University of Cambridge before coming to St George’s.
“The university has tight units of people with lots of day-to-day interactions with colleagues,” he says. “I’ve been lucky to work with some incredible people here at St George’s at all levels, and long may I continue enjoying my work here.”
Professor Rajko Reljic’s inaugural lecture will be on Monday 21 March 2022. Further details on the event, including how to register to attend, can be found here.