Professor Teresa Lambe is one of seven Covid-19 researchers from University of Oxford who have been recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for their research and contributions to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. Teresa is one of the Principal Investigators who helped develop the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine (also known as ChAdOx1-S/nCoV-19), and has been overseeing the University’s Covid-19 vaccine programme since early last year.
She has been appointed as an honorary Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE), for services to Science and Public Health.
Speaking of the award, Teresa said, "It is a privilege to receive this recognition and I would like to thank the global team, whose imagination, hard work, and determination allowed us to turn the impossible into reality, making a vaccine in record time. Going forward, we need to remember what we can achieve when we work together, so we can make sure that future generations don't need to make the same sacrifices that we have."
In an interview for the Irish Times, Teresa was keen to stress the importance of engaging with the public, and for scientists to be present to answer questions when there is doubt or hesitancy among the population. “I didn’t appreciate how important that was until this year," she said. "Vaccines don’t save lives, vaccinations save lives."