Gabriel Carrasco
Wasim Syed
Dineo Thaele & Matshidiso Sello
Dr Anna Blakney
Dr Soha Albayat
Jeanine du Plessis
Dr Nighat Arif
Dr Kiran Morjaria
Dr Punam Krishan
Dr Meenal Viz & Dr Nishant Joshi
Jaqueline Goes de Jesus
Professor Shiv Pillai
Dr Jamie Parker
Nathan Peiffer Smadja
Leonie Mayer
Samantha Vanderslott
Julio Sempere
Dr Asher Williams
Faith Uwadiae
Dr Walid Zaher
Sean Elias
Dr Natalia Pasternak
Dr Paul F. McKay
Dr Ahmad Abou Tayoun
Björn Meyer
Dr Gustavo Cabral
Purvi Parikh
Professor Galit Alter
Dr Partha Kar
Dr Ajay M Verma
Daniela Ferreira
Dr Alex Bowmer
Natali Serafin
Rômulo Neris
Dr Paul Ian Cross
Dr Ruby Raphael
André Báfica
Dr Vicky Baillie
Federica Cappuccini
Shamaila Anwar
Dr Sarah Merrifield
Dr Will Budd
Juan Ambrosioni
Dr Simone Richardson
Andrea Mazzella
Featured Guides
These volunteers are making short videos on TikTok and Instagram to explain their part in the vaccine effort.
@dr_faith_uwadiae
Faith Uwadiae
Faith Uwadiae is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Francis Crick Institute in London. Her research is within the field of immunology and focuses on understanding the link between malaria and a type of cancer called Burkitt’s Lymphoma. She started her scientific career by pursuing a BSc in Biochemistry at King’s College London, before undertaking an MRes in Biomedical Research and a PhD in Immunology, both at Imperial College London.
Currently, Faith is also an Early Career Representative for the British Society of Immunology’s Forum, working to raise issues and ideas to create policy change to shape UK immunology. Faith is passionate about improving racial diversity in STEM and does whatever she can through university and public engagement lectures, events, articles and social media.
Outside of work, Faith spends her free time doing science in other ways: homebrewing beer and baking with a blog to document these food adventures. She is also obsessed with podcasts and recently became a lockdown cyclist – and she loves it.
@profpillaipoet
Professor Shiv Pillai
Shiv is Professor of Medicine and Health Sciences & Technology at Harvard Medical School where he’s Director of the immunology postgraduate programmes, and a Group leader at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, where his lab is located. He is a world leader in the study of fundamental B-cell development. Currently his lab is studying the immune response to Covid-19, where they have identified a potential way in which the disease’s cytokine storm may inhibit development of a strong antibody response by the immune system.
@oromulismo
Rômulo Neris
Rômulo is a Biophysicist and PhD student in Immunology and Infection at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He was studying at the University of Califorina-Davis in the USA before returning to Brazil during the pandemic to help with research on the new coronavirus. His work focuses on understanding the mechanisms that make our bodies develop immunity against Sars-CoV-2 and the reasons why some people develop severe illness while others experience mild symptoms.
@anotherindiandoctor
Dr Kiran Morjaria
Dr Kiran Morjaria is a junior doctor and comedian based in Manchester. He is working on the front line admitting and treating patients with Covid-19. In his spare time he volunteers at a Covid-19 vaccination hub as a vaccinator.
Kiran graduated from Leeds Medical School in 2017, where he was awarded the SPARK scholarship for enterprise, and is currently training to be a GP. He has performed comedy across the national circuit and continues to make medicine accessible and fun online.
Kiran’s big passion outside of medicine is comedy. He also enjoys staying active, he is a keen gym-goer, tennis player and vegetarian foodie.
@nataliapasternakscience
Dr Natalia Pasternak
Natalia is a microbiologist specialising in molecular genetics of bacteria. She currently works as a visiting researcher at the University of Sao Paolo, at the Vaccine Development Laboratory. She is the Director-President of the Instituto Questão de Ciência (“a question of science”) and an outspoken advocate for scientific thought in public life. She is a columnist for the newspaper “O Globo” and is a regular media commentator on Covid-19 in Brazil.
@cov19_impact_investies
Dineo Thaele & Matshidiso Sello
Dineo and Matshidiso are demographers working at Wits Vaccines Infectious Disease Analytics (VIDA) Research unit in South Africa. They are screening and testing for Covid-19 in the township of Soweto and informal settlements in Thembelihle as part of a wider child health programme. They are assessing the impact of Covid-19 on community access to healthcare, livelihoods and education. Information that may help ensure distribution of a vaccine is as effective as possible.
@purviparikhmd
Purvi Parikh
Purvi Parikh, MD, FACP, FACAAI is one the investigators for the Covid-19 vaccine trials at the New York University Vaccine Center.
Purvi is an adult and paediatric allergist and immunologist at Allergy and Asthma Associates of Murray Hill and is currently on faculty as Clinical Assistant Professor in both departments of Medicine and Paediatrics at New York University School of Medicine.
She is an avid vaccine champion with the UN Foundation’s vaccine program Shot@life. She is highly passionate in health policy and travels to Washington, D.C. multiple times per year to speak with legislators to influence health policy.
@juliobioq
Julio Sempere
Julio Sempere is a Biochemist and Microbiologist working for the National Centre for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, based in Madrid.
Julio works in the Spanish Pneumococcal Reference Laboratory, in the Vaccine Preventable Bacterial Diseases Unit, evaluating new vaccine serotypes of the pneumococcus and the impact of vaccines in invasive pneumococcal disease. Julio researches bacteria biofilms, approaching new treatments against antibiotic resistant bacteria, and studies the interaction of pathogens with the immune system. His interests are in vaccines, clinical microbiology and immunology.
Julio is a Madrilenian (born and bred in Madrid) and since watching Grey’s Anatomy, he’s wanted to become a scientist. Julio also enjoys cycling and running, and before the pandemic, he used to love going to the gym.
Community
Follow the people working on all aspects of science that will make these coronavirus vaccines safe and effective
@RebeccaChandle1
Rebecca Chandler 
@GISAID
GISAID Initiative
@DubeEve
Eve Dubé 
@sherrywren
Sherry Wren
@ShabirMadh
Shabir Madhi
@SheuliPorkess
Sheuli Porkess
@paolo_bonanni
Paolo Bonanni
@ragoninstitute
Ragon Institute
@vaccine_trust
The Vaccine Confidence Project
@TVVen
TV Venkateswaran
@KarnyartSamnuan
Karnyart K Samnuan
@GeorgeKassianos
Dr. George Kassianos CBE
@angie_rasmussen
Dr. Angela Rasmussen
@microelisa
Elisa Ramos Sevillano
@MSabahelzain
Majdi Sabahelzain 
@drpandeyak
Dr A K Pandey
@VenkataraoDr
Dr E Venkata Rao
@ProfKatieEwer
Prof Katie Ewer
@kristenldegraaf
Kristen de Graaf
@dr_shivanik
Shivani Kshirsagar
You can help too
Thousands of volunteers around the world are signing up to help trial these vaccines to make sure they’re safe and effective.
Find a trial near you
About
Team Halo is an effort to support and celebrate the inspiring collaboration between scientists all over the world to help us end this pandemic with safe and effective vaccines.
The ‘halo’ represents the ring of connected science that circles the globe.
All participation is voluntary. If you’re involved in the vaccine search and would like to be listed on this site, please get in touch.
Team Halo was established in partnership with the The Vaccine Confidence Project at the University of London’s school of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. It is proud to collaborate with the UN Verified Initiative and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Support is provided by Luminate, IKEA Foundation and the Global Challenges Foundation.