ARC Volunteer Database

Join our ARC Volunteer Database and hear about upcoming respiratory research studies in Liverpool. You can register your interest without commitment, then decide study by study if you want to take part.

Quick benefits

  • Your involvement helps us develop and test better vaccines to prevent pneumococcal disease for future generations worldwide.
  • You can experience science and medicine from a new perspective.
  • You will have a clinical exam as part of screening (including checks such as blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen levels). If we spot anything unusual, we will refer you to your GP.
  • We pay you for your time and participation. Payments are made by bank transfer at the end of the study.
  • We publish results in scientific journals and share updates through a yearly newsletter for participants.

What happens when you register

  • We invite you to a chat presentation where you meet the team, watch a presentation or video about the study, and ask questions.
  • You decide whether you want to take part. If you do, we will guide you through the next steps.

Who we are

The Liverpool Vaccine Group is a team of scientists, doctors and nurses based at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. We research respiratory infections caused by viruses and bacteria.

We are particularly interested in pneumococcus, a bacteria commonly found in the nose of healthy people. It can cause pneumonia, meningitis, sepsis and otitis media (ear infection). Our research suggests small numbers of the bacteria in the nose may help protect against future disease.

How we test vaccines

Traditional vaccine testing can involve vaccinating large numbers of people and monitoring them for long periods to measure pneumonia outcomes. This approach is costly and resource intensive, which can make vaccines expensive and limit availability in lower-middle income countries.

We have developed a “human challenge model” where we inoculate healthy volunteers with the bacteria in their nose. This allows us to study immune responses and whether the bacteria colonises the nose. We use colonisation rather than pneumonia incidence to test whether vaccines are likely to protect against disease.

Because we can work with smaller numbers of volunteers, we can produce results more quickly. The aim is to reduce vaccine costs and support access for all populations, including lower-middle income countries.

Why we are doing this research

In the UK, pneumonia mainly affects older people. Worldwide, pneumonia is the biggest killer of children under five years old. The good news is that better vaccination can prevent pneumonia.

There are over 90 strains of pneumococcal bacteria, but current vaccines in the UK only protect against some strains. Our research helps us understand immune responses and how pneumococcus spreads from person to person, so we can develop better vaccines.

ARC Volunteer Database Registration Form

This form takes approximately 2 minutes to fill in. By completing this form you are requesting further information about clinical trials. You are not signing up. You will receive an email with more information about our trials including quarterly Newsletters. If you may be eligible, you will be invited into the clinic for a chat presentation and chance to talk to a doctor before deciding to take part.

Age(Required)
Can you travel to appointments in Liverpool?(Required)
Do you live with any of the following? Tick all that apply *(Required)
Do you have heart disease?(Required)
Do you have any of the following? Tick all that apply.(Required)
Do you have any respiratory conditions?(Required)
Consent(Required)
I consent to being contacted by the Respiratory Research Team LSTM about research studies. I understand that by completing this form I am not obliged to take part in research. I understand that I may email the respiratory research team 2volresearch@lstmed.ac.uk to unsubscribe from this database. I may also contact the team on 07740 410 290 to unsubscribe