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Contact Details

Phone
64 3 479 7877
Email
sarah.hook@otago.ac.nz
Position
Professor and Director, Research Infrastructure Centre
Qualifications
BSc(Hons) PhD(Otago)
Research summary
Vaccine formulation and delivery
Teaching
Immunology and infectious diseases to undergraduate and postgraduate students

Research

My area of interest is in the development and testing (physical, chemical and immunological) of novel vaccine formulations for the prevention and treatment of both communicable and non-communicable disease. My specific areas of interest are in the development of one-shot sustained release vaccines and in needle-free (transdermal or oral) vaccines for the treatment of tuberculosis and cancer.

My research focuses on:

  • Sustained release vaccines
  • Needle free vaccines
  • Therapeutic cancer vaccines
  • Identification and formulation of novel adjuvants

Professor Hook on Google Scholar

Publications

Harju, E., Movahedi, P., Tomberg, T., Fraser-Miller, S. J., Piga, F., Saarinen, J., Sircombe, K. J., … Hook, S., Gordon, K. C., … Strachan, C. J. (2026). Discriminating chemoresistant and chemosensitive tubo-ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma cells with raman microscopy. Journal of Raman Spectroscopy. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1002/jrs.70170 Journal - Research Article

Paterson, D. A., Lawer, A., Davidson, J., Hook, S., & Gamble, A. B. (2025). Stimuli-responsive thiocarbamate-based polymeric particles for hydrogen sulfide generation. RSC Applied Polymers, 3, 926-933. doi: 10.1039/d5lp00040h Journal - Research Article

Brind, T., Lawer, A., Todd, T., Aryal, S., Hook, S., & Gamble, A. B. (2025). Bioorthogonal click-to-release of branched pro-fluorophores. Chemistry: A European Journal. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1002/chem.202501544 Journal - Research Article

Su, S. W., Hook, S., Pletzer, D., & Gamble, A. B. (2024). Overcoming efflux-mediated multidrug resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry (NZIC) Conference. (pp. 216). Retrieved from https://nzic.org.nz/conferences Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Rani, P., Fairhall, J., Dadhwal, S., Hook, S., & Gamble, A. B. (2024). Dual triggered probe for improved drug delivery using TCO-peptide hydrogel. Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry (NZIC) Conference. (pp. 210). Retrieved from https://nzic.org.nz/conferences Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

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