Victoria received her undergraduate degree and PhD here in Sportex. Her PhD examined the association between psychological stress and antibody response to vaccination and she received the Faculty of Science award for this research. She was appointed as a post-doctoral research fellow in the School in 2002, became a Roberts Research Fellow in 2004, and a Senior Lecturer in 2011.   She is the holder of an Action Medical Research grant, examining exercise as a behavioural adjuvant to vaccination.

Staff Interview with Dr Victoria (Vikki) Burns

Victoria was awarded a University of Birmingham Teaching Fellowship, in recognition of her work developing the generic skills training programme for postgraduate students. She provides training and advice in good teaching practice for both undergraduate and postgraduate level across the University, as well as contributing to the assessment of the Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.

Along with Dr Jennifer Cumming, Victoria secured Educational Enhancement funds in 2010 from the Centre of Learning and Academic Development (CLAD) for teaching-related research into the transfer of teamwork skills learnt at the University’s Raymond Priestley Outdoor Pursuits Centre to academia.

Victoria teaches Anatomy to first year undergraduates, and is the module organiser of the second year laboratory practical module. She also contributes to modules in Psychophysiology of Sport and Exercise and Exercise and Behavioural Immunology. She also supervises third year project students, and delivers lectures to the whole third year on essay and dissertation writing, poster presentations, and examination technique.

Current postgraduate students

Joanna Long BSc (2008 - 2011) Exercise and antibody response to vaccination in healthy and HIV+ populations

Fredrik Weibull (2010 - 2013) Exercise imagery

Jerrald Rector MSc (2010 – 2013) Psychosocial determinants of immunological ageing. Funding: Marie Curie fp7

Former postgraduate students

Natalie E Riddell, BSc (2006 – 2010) Adrenergic regulation of T cell function (currently post-doctoral fellow in Experimental Immunology, University College London).

Leila H Anane, MSc (2005 – 2009) Stress lymphocytosis: mechanisms and clinical relevance (currently teaching staff at Numidia Academy).

John Campbell, BSc (2006 - 2010) Behavioural adjuvants to vaccination (currently post-doctoral fellow in the College of Medical and Dental Sciences)

Anna Phillips, MSc (2002 - 2005) Psychosocial factors, reactivity, and antibody response to vaccination (currently RCUK fellow in Sport and Exercise Sciences)

Kate Edwards, BSc (2002 - 2005) Acute stress and the immune response to vaccination in humans (currently lecturer at the University of Sydney)

Victoria’s main research is focused on the potential mechanisms and applications of exercise as a behavioural adjuvant to vaccination, in collaboration with colleagues in the School and in the College of Medical and Dental Sciences. Further, with Dr Jos Bosch, Victoria has been involved in research demonstrating that periods of acute stress are characterised not by a generalised mobilisation of immune cells, as was previously thought, but by a highly specific and functionally relevant mobilisation of cells with immediate killing potential. She is a member of the Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society and has received five scholarship awards to present work at international conferences.

Victoria has recently diversified her research interests into the areas of exercise psychology. Along with Dr Jennifer Cumming, she is bringing psychophysiological techniques to psychological questions, examining for example the cardiovascular responses to emotional imagery. She has also worked with Dr. Sarah Aldred on a study examining endocrine and oxidative stress responses to exercise, and has also collaborated with Dr Jet Veldhuijzen van Zanten and Dr Anna Phillips within the School on a number of projects.

Victoria is Head of Quality Assurance and Enhancement (QAE) for the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, and sits on the College of Life and Environmental Sciences QAE committee. She is also the postgraduate training lead for both the School and the College and is a member of the College Graduate Research Committee.

Victoria is also interested in communicating science to a wider audience and completed a British Association for the Advancement of Science Media Fellowship, during which she worked as a science journalist for the Irish Times. She also won first prize in the National Brain Science Writing prize for an article about research conducted in our department, which went on to be published in the Telegraph. Victoria is currently the Press Officer for the Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society, and writes press releases to promote recent articles published in Brain, Behavior and Immunity. She delivered the "Sunshine" lectures for year 8 students, which aim to enthuse young people about science and University.

Psychosocial stress and vaccination research

Phillips AC, Carroll D, Burns VE, Ring C, Macleod J, Drayson M. Bereavement and Marriage are Associated with Antibody Response to Influenza Vaccination in the Elderly  Brain, Behavior and Immunity 2006; 20:279-289.

Edwards KM, Burns VE, Reynolds T, Ring C, Carroll D, Drayson M.  Acute stress exposure prior to influenza vaccination enhances antibody response in women.  Brain, Behavior and Immunity 2006; 20:159-68.

Phillips AC, Carroll D, Burns VE, Ring C, Drayson M.  The association between life events, social support and antibody status following thymus-dependent and thymus-independent vaccinations in healthy young adults. Brain, Behavior and Immunity 2005; 19: 325-333.

Phillips AC, Carroll D, Burns VE, Drayson M. Neuroticism, cortisol reactivity, and antibody response to vaccination. Psychophysiology 2005; 42: 232-238.

Burns VE.  Stress and antibody response to vaccination:  implications of animal studies for human clinical research.  Expert Reviews of Vaccines 2004; 3: 141-149.

Burns VE, Carroll D, Ring C, Drayson M. Antibody response to vaccination and psychosocial stress in humans: Relationships and mechanisms. Vaccine 2003; 21: 2523-2534. 

Burns VE, Carroll D, Drayson M, Whitham M, Ring C. Life events, perceived stress, and antibody response to influenza vaccination in young, healthy adults. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 2003; 55: 569-572.

Burns VE, Ring C, Drayson M, Carroll D. Cortisol and cardiovascular reactions to mental stress and antibody status following hepatitis B vaccination: A preliminary study. Psychophysiology 2002; 39: 361-368.

Burns VE, Drayson M, Ring C, Carroll D.  Perceived stress and psychological well-being are associated with antibody status after meningitis C conjugate vaccination.  Psychosomatic Medicine 2002; 64:  963-970.

Burns VE, Carroll D, Ring C, Harrison LK, Drayson M. Stress, coping, and hepatitis B antibody status. Psychosomatic Medicine 2002; 64: 287-293.

Other research

Edwards KM, Burns VE, Ring C, Carroll D.  (in press). Individual differences in the IL-6 response to maximal and submaximal exercise tasks.  Journal of Sport Sciences

Edwards KM, Burns VE, Ring C, Carroll D.  Sex Differences in the interleukin-6 response to acute psychological stress.  Biological Psychology 2006; 71: 236-9.

Burns VE, Ring C, Carroll D.  Factors influencing influenza vaccination uptake in an elderly, community-based sample.  Vaccine 2005; 23: 3604-3608.

Veldhuijzen van Zanten JJCS, Ring C, Burns VE, Edwards KM, Drayson M, Carroll D.  Mental stress-induced haemoconcentration: sex differences and mechanisms.  Psychophysiology 2004; 41:541-551

Burns VE, Ring C, Harrison LK, Carroll D, Drayson M.  Reductions in secretory immunoglobulin A to cold pressor stress are not influenced by timing of saliva sampling.  Biological Psychology 2004; 66: 91-98.

Ring C, Burns VE, Carroll D. Shifting hemodynamics of blood pressure control during prolonged mental stress. Psychophysiology 2002; 39: 585-590. 

Harrison LK, Denning S, Easton HL, Hall JC, Burns VE, Ring C, Carroll D. The effects of competition and competitiveness on cardiovascular activity. Psychophysiology 2001; 38: 601-606. 

Harrison LK, Carroll D, Burns VE, Corkill AR, Harrison CM, Ring C, Drayson M. Cardiovascular and secretory immunoglobulin A reactions to humorous, exciting and didactic film presentations. Biological Psychology 2000; 52: 113-126.