Andrew McMichael


Sir Andrew James McMichael, is an immunologist, Professor of Molecular Medicine, and previously Director of the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine at the University of Oxford. He is particularly known for his work on T cell responses to viral infections such as influenza and HIV.

Early life and education

McMichael was born in London on 8 November 1943 to Sir John McMichael and Joan Catherine. He went to school at St Pauls and then to the University of Cambridge at Gonville and Caius College to study medicine. He went on to complete a PhD at the National Institute for Medical Research supervised by 'Ita' Brigitte Askonas and Alan Williamson. His thesis, published in 1975, is entitled The clonal expression of antibody-forming cells.

Career and research

After his PhD McMichael completed his postdoctoral research supervised by Hugh McDevitt at Stanford University. In 1977 he returned to the UK to study the T cell response to HIV infection. His research group have created two HIV vaccines which were tested in phase I clinical trials. McMichael became director of the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine in 2000, and remained so until 2012. He founded the MRC Human Immunology Unit in 1998 as honorary director until 2010.
McMichael has supervised over 55 DPhil students over his career, many of whom have gone on to become leading immunologists themselves:
In addition McMichael supervised postdoctoral researchers, including Tomáš Hanke, and Sarah Rowland-Jones.

Awards and honours

In 1968 McMichael married Kathryn 'Kate' Elizabeth Cross, they have two sons and one daughter. McMichael enjoys walking and skiing at his house in La Salle les Alpes, France.

Notable works