Dr Tepekule’s research explores how early-life environmental perturbations such as malnutrition, infection or antibiotic exposure influence immune maturation. Using mathematical models informed by paediatric cohort data, her research group will characterise how early-life immune imprinting influences infectious disease susceptibility and vaccine response in children. Ultimately, her research will contribute to the generation of microbiome-targeted interventions at the population scale to prevent pathological immune programming, thereby improving lifelong health outcomes for children across diverse socioeconomic and geographical settings.
