Professor Alex Richter MBChB, MRCP, FRCPath, MD

• 2012 – FRCPath, Royal College of Pathologists
• 2009 – MD, University of Birmingham. Infection and inflammation in interstitial lung disease. Funded by Wellcome CRF entry level fellowship
• 2002 – MRCP Diploma, Royal College of Physicians (London)
• 1996 – MBChB, University of Birmingham

Professor Alex Richter is Professor of Clinical Immunology at the University of Birmingham and Honorary Consultant Immunologist at University Hospitals Birmingham. She leads the Clinical Immunology Service (CIS), a UKAS ISO15189-accredited national diagnostic laboratory, delivering over 100,000 specialist immunology and haemato-oncology tests annually across 135 NHS Trusts. Under her leadership, CIS has introduced national-first innovations, including the UK’s first off-trial measurable residual disease testing for AML and the integration of next-generation spectral cytometry into NHS diagnostics.

Professor Richter’s research portfolio exceeds £30 million in funding and over 180 peer-reviewed publications. She co-leads landmark national vaccine studies (COV-AD, OCTAVE, STRAVINSKY) that have shaped NICE and JCVI guidance for vulnerable patients. She is an internationally recognised leader in diagnostic innovation, including the development of CE-marked SARS-CoV-2 antibody assays and point-of-care technologies now advancing screening for type 1 diabetes and infectious diseases.

She leads diagnostic strategy for the West Midlands Health Tech Innovation Accelerator and advises UKHSA, MHRA, JCVI and parliamentary groups, translating immunological discovery into clinical and regulatory policy. Her work has directly impacted national infection prevention policy, vaccine prioritisation, and diagnostic readiness.

After graduating from the University of Birmingham (MBChB, 1996), she served as a Major in the Royal Army Medical Corps before specialising in Clinical Immunology. She completed an MD in infection and inflammation (2009) funded by a Wellcome Trust Fellowship, followed by FRCPath accreditation in 2012. She was appointed Clinical Lecturer (2012), Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant (2014), and Professor of Clinical Immunology (2020).

Professor Richter founded the UK’s first academic Clinical Immunology Department with a full complement of Chair, Associate Professor, Clinical Lecturer, and Academic Clinical Fellow posts, creating an integrated model that supports inclusive clinical academic training and sustainable leadership development. She supervises doctoral and clinical scientist trainees, examines for the Royal College of Pathologists, and champions diversity through scholarship supervision and mentorship.

Her career bridges diagnostics, translational research, clinical service delivery, and national policy leadership, delivering real-world impact for patients across the NHS and internationally.

Higher education

• Undergraduate teaching: Module lead for IIH, 2^nd year MBChB students, lecturer BMedSci (clinical sciences), BMedSci and tutor for Graduate Entry course (MBChB)
• Post graduate teaching: lecturer masters Immunity and infection
• Programme lead for MSc in Blood sciences (2015-2020), including successful accreditation
• Module lead and developed course for MPharm UoB, including successful accreditation (2016-2020)
• Supervise 5 PhD, 1 MD
• Theses completed in last 3 years: 1 PhD, 1 MD, 5 masters, 1 MPharm, 4 BMedSci
• 2019:    REME Teaching Award (Recognising Excellence in Medical Education) 

Clinical

• GMC accredited Educational Supervisor (3 trainees through to successful consultant post, 1 clinical lecturer and one ACF)
• HSST clinical scientist supervisor (1x trainee)
• Clinical Scientist (1x trainee to consultant through Portfolio and FRCPath)
• STP supervisor (5 successful trainees 2016-2024)
• Examiner for FRCPath Immunology exam (Chair 2020/1, including leading exam through first online iteration)

Doctorates

• MD – Prevalence of MGUS in acute admissions
• PhD – Role of B cells in HIV
• PhD - The role of B cells in non small cell lung cancer (current)
• PhD - The Immunology of recurrent miscarriage (current)
• DClinSci - Prevalence of secondary immunodeficiency in stem cell transplant recovery (current)

Other

• Regularly supervisors masters and batchelor degree projects
• Educational supervisor for clinical lecturer and academic clinical fellow

If you are interesting in studying any of these subject areas please contact Professor Alex Richter directly, or for any general doctoral research enquiries, please email mds-gradschool@contacts.bham.ac.uk.

For a full list of available Doctoral Research opportunities, please visit our Doctoral Research programme listings.

Current Research (2020–Present)

Infection Risk and Vaccine Responses in Immunocompromised Patients

Professor Richter leads a national programme optimising vaccination strategies for clinically vulnerable groups:

• Co-Lead for COV-AD (UKRI £683k) and Co-Investigator for OCTAVE and OCTAVE Duo, defining COVID-19 vaccine responses in immunodeficient patients and informing NICE TA878 and JCVI guidance.
• Co-Lead for the STRAVINSKY trial (NIHR £2.85M) identifying immune correlates of protection, and Co-Investigator for IMMPROVE (MRC £7M) advancing vaccination strategies for immunosuppressed groups.
• Demonstrated durable pneumococcal vaccine responses in HIV-positive patients, influencing national immunisation policies for immunocompromised populations.

Healthcare Worker Immunity and Vaccine Response

Professor Richter led the COCO healthcare worker study at University Hospitals Birmingham, evaluating COVID-19 infection risk, immune responses, and vaccine outcomes among frontline NHS staff. COCO data was incorporated into the national PITCH (Protective Immunity from T cells to Covid-19 in Health Workers) and SIREN (SARS-CoV-2 Immunity and Reinfection Evaluation) studies.

Key contributions included:

• Demonstrating that prior infection boosted vaccine responses (Lancet Microbe, 2021)
• Showing extended vaccine dosing intervals enhanced immune responses (Cell, 2021)
• Establishing the central role of T cell immunity in protection (Nature Communications, 2023)
• Highlighting asymptomatic infection rates and occupational risks among NHS staff (Thorax, 2020)

This body of work has shaped NHS staff vaccination strategies, informed JCVI recommendations, and contributed to national workforce protection policies. Professor Richter served as one of five senior authors in the PITCH consortium and continues to drive healthcare worker-focused immunological research.

Diagnostic Innovation and Assay Development

Professor Richter leads multiple translational diagnostics programmes:

• Development of a multiplex lateral flow device for Type 1 diabetes screening (Breakthrough T1D, £730k)
• Remote dried blood spot testing in the ELSA paediatric screening study
• Saliva-based point-of-care tetanus serology testing (MRC DPFS, £1.1M) and lateral flow tests for measles and Mpox (MRC IAA)
• Early diagnostic work exploring immune biomarkers in recurrent miscarriage, informing future screening approaches

She also co-developed a CE-marked SARS-CoV-2 antibody assay, widely adopted internationally for serological surveillance and research.

Immune Dysregulation Post-COVID-19

Professor Richter identified links between SARS-CoV-2 infection and tissue-specific autoimmunity (Clinical and Experimental Immunology, 2021), leading to biomarker discovery now applied in the REACT-LC and PHOSP-COVID long COVID studies.

Health Policy and Translational Research Leadership

Professor Richter chairs national working groups for the British Society for Immunology, developing vaccination safety guidelines for the clinically vulnerable. She authored the national BSI policy report Measuring Vaccine-Induced Immunogenicity, presented at the House of Lords (2023). She serves on advisory panels for JCVI, MHRA, UKHSA, and parliamentary groups, translating research findings into clinical and regulatory policy.

University of Birmingham

• Director of the Clinical Immunology Services
• Department of Immunology and Immunotherapy executive committee
• ECMC Management Group
• BactiVac Network Management Board - £2.2 million Bacterial Vaccines (BactiVac) network

External appointments

• Myeloma UK -  Early Diagnosis Steering Committee
• UK Primary Immunodeficiency Network UKPIN – Trustee
• NIHR CRF specialist advisory committee at UHB