Dr Christine Rollier

Dr Christine Rollier describes herself as "very curious" - she likes to understand how things work and the mechanisms behind any aspect of life. She first studied Biology and then a Masters in Biochemistry, later obtaining her PhD in Biochemistry and Immunology from the University of Lyon, France.

After her PhD she moved to the Netherlands to do post-doctoral research, where she was able to further develop her interest in immunology, specialising in vaccine development. Following the birth of her first child, she took a career break for 18 months to enable her to spend time with her young daughter. Her second post-doctoral research position was with Professor Adrian Hill at the Jenner Institute, working on improvements of vaccine vectors against malaria. During her time at the Jenner Institute she had her second child.

She believes that the flexibility of a research career has enabled her to achieve a good work/life balance, especially as she is able to work 4 days a week to fit her research career around her family commitments.

"Working 4 days a week allows me to have a really good work/life balance as I don't feel guilty when I am at home with my family and not working and I also don't feel guilty when I am at work and not spending time with my children."

"I decided to come to Oxford as it represented for me the best place for research, especially vaccinology".

"I feel that I have been really supported in my career by NDM. Professor Adrian Hill recruited me after a career break. I asked to work 4 days a week and it wasn't a problem. He was also very supportive when I had my second child whilst working for him. I can honestly say that I still feel supported by him now, even though I no longer work for him."

Christine now works at the Oxford Vaccine Group in Paediatrics developing new vaccines for childhood bacterial infections. Although she no longer works for the Department she still maintains strong links with NDM.

"I feel proud to work for the University of Oxford as it has a renowned International reputation. Although I have now left NDM I still have strong connections with the Department and I still get a lot of support from them."