Management Team
VALIDATE Management Team
Prof Samantha Sampson - VALIDATE Director
Sam is Principal Investigator in Mycobacteriology at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. Her group has an interest in host-pathogen interactions, and aims to gain a better understanding of how the pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis interacts with its host to cause disease, using molecular mycobacteriology and in vivo and in vitro infection models together with data-rich methodologies. As VALIDATE Director she leads the strategic and scientific direction of the Network, chairing the Network Management Board. You can read more about Sam's research interests here.
Prof Andrea Cooper - VALIDATE Co-Director
Andrea is Dean of Research and a Professor of Cellular Immunology at the University of Leicester. The underlying theme of Professor Cooper’s work is the definition of the mechanisms which mediate initiation, expression and regulation of immunity within the lung. As VALIDATE Co-Director she leads the strategic and scientific direction of the Network with Sam, Helen, and Adelaida. You can read more about Andrea's research interests here.
Dr Maria Adelaida Gómez - VALIDATE Co-Director
Adelaida is Coordinator of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at CIDEIM, Colombia. Her research aims to unravel the host-pathogen interactions and underlying mechanisms that determine the clinical and therapeutic outcomes of human leishmaniasis, as a model of tropical infectious diseases caused by intracellular pathogens. As VALIDATE Co-Director she leads the strategic and scientific direction of the Network with Sam, Helen, and Andrea. You can read more about Adelaida's research interests here.
Prof Helen McShane - VALIDATE Co-Director
Helen is a Professor of Vaccinology at Oxford University, where she has led the Jenner Institute’s TB team since 2002. She has conducted clinical trials of candidate TB vaccines, developed both at Oxford and by industry collaborators, in the UK, South Africa, Uganda, Senegal and The Gambia, including the first modern efficacy trial of a candidate TB vaccine (MVA85A). As VALIDATE Co-Director she leads the strategic and scientific direction of the Network with Sam, Andrea, and Adelaida. You can read more about Helen's research interests here.
Samantha Vermaak - VALIDATE Co-Investigator and Executive Manager
Sam is the Executive Manager of VALIDATE, based at University of Oxford. As a member of the Management Team and Network Management Board she helps plan VALIDATE’s strategic direction, and she leads on operations, with responsibility for turning plans into actual VALIDATE activities, as well as being responsible for VALIDATE’s financial management. She heads up the VALIDATE core staff team at University of Oxford. Managing VALIDATE from its inception in 2017, and as TB Vaccine Programme Manager at University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute for seven years prior to this, Sam has extensive experience in project/programme management, research grant financial management, managing clinical trials in the UK and overseas, working with industry partners, and managing international Consortia. Sam is also a trained coach and leads the VALIDATE Early Career Researcher Career Development Network (ECDN).
Do get in contact with Sam for any queries about VALIDATE. Find out more about Sam here.
Samantha.Vermaak@ndm.ox.ac.uk LinkedIn Twitter
Dr Suereta Fortuin - VALIDATE Program Manager
Dr Suereta Fortuin is the Program Manager for the VALIDATE Network based at Stellenbosch University in South Africa.
Sue is part of the Management and Network Management teams at VALIDATE, where she is instrumental in developing strategic plans and overseeing the core team at Stellenbosch University to direct their activities. Her research expertise spans health science research, particularly focusing on multi-omics platforms in Tuberculosis, HIV, and the gut microbiome within African populations. For more information about her research interests, please visit her profile.
For further inquiries about VALIDATE, you can contact Sue directly and connect with her on LinkedIn.
VALIDATE Core Staff
VALIDATE's central team are based at University of Oxford, UK, and support the Management Team with VALIDATE's activities.
Blakeley Nixon - VALIDATE Communications and Events Coordinator
Blakeley is the VALIDATE Communications and Events Coordinator, based at University of Oxford. He has previously worked in a number of roles in the education and charity sector including as a community coordinator at Humanists UK and managing commemorative events with the Royal British Legion. Blakeley works with Sam Vermaak on VALIDATE’s communications and its events programme. If you have any questions relating to Events or Communications, do get in touch with Blakeley.
Blakeley.Nixon@ndm.ox.ac.uk LinkedIn
Tom Wright - VALIDATE Project Coordinator
Tom is the VALIDATE Project Coordinator, based at the University of Oxford. He was previously employed in the private diagnostic laboratory sector, managing a range of projects including providing COVID-19 testing services for film and television productions. Tom works alongside Sam Vermaak and Blakeley Nixon, after joining the team in 2024.
You can get in touch with Tom with any queries about VALIDATE.
Zahn de Bruyn – VALIDATE project coordinator
Zahn is the VALIDATE project coordinator, based at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. She has previously worked as a program coordinator at the University of Stellenbosch Business School ( Executive Development) where she coordinated projects including customised and open academic short courses. She works alongside Dr Sue Fortuin.
You can get in touch with Zahn with any queries about VALIDATE.
