Biography
David Lalloo is a clinical academic in Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases with particular interest in clinical trials and epidemiological studies in low- and middle-income countries. Having undergone initial training in Newcastle upon Tyne, David trained in General Medicine, Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, spending three years in Papua New Guinea. He undertook clinical and laboratory research in Oxford before moving as Senior Lecturer to the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) in 1999. Prior to becoming Vice Chancellor, David was Dean of Clinical Sciences and International Public Health and was Director of the Wellcome Trust Liverpool Glasgow Centre for Global Health Research and the Liverpool Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Programme. He is an Honorary Consultant at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital and remains clinically active.
David has held a number of national roles. He chaired the Department of Health and Social Care COVID-19 Prophylaxis Oversight group and was an advisor to the Department of Health and Social Care, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office/Department for International Development, National Institute for Health and Care Research and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence COVID-19 groups. He currently chairs the National Institute for Health and Care Research Global Health Advisory Group, has been a member of the Medical Research Council Global Health group for over 10 years, and was a member of The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies for Ebola and Zika. He chaired the Public Health England Advisory Committee on Malaria from 2010-2019. He has sat on multiple funding committees and was Chair of the Wellcome Trust/ Medical Research Council/ Department for International Development /Department of Health Clinical Trials PaneI from 2016-2019. He is an honorary Consultant Advisor for Tropical Medicine for the army, a National Poisons Service Advisor on Envenoming and a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation travel medicine sub-committee. In May 2024, David was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and he was appointed as a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (CMG) in the King’s 2025 Birthday Honours List.
Research interests
David’s research focuses on clinical trials and epidemiological studies of HIV related infections, malaria and envenoming. He has had a long-standing research interest in cryptococcal disease and also worked extensively on COVID during the pandemic. He has active collaborations in a number of countries including Malawi, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Kenya, Nigeria, eSwatini, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Togo and South Africa. He has worked with the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Programme for over twenty years and has a strong interest in identifying and supporting young UK and African clinicians interested in tropical research and strengthening scientific capacity in resource poor settings.
His current projects include a multicentre trial of antivenoms across a number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa and the African Snakebite Alliance
Teaching
He has supervised over 35 PhD students and continues to supervise students working on snakebite. He regularly lectures on cryptococcal disease, aspects of malaria and enevenoming.
Selected research publications
Clinical presentation and management of snakebite envenoming in northern Ghana – Journal: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases – Published: 12th December 2025
Did the WHO recognition of snakebite as a neglected tropical disease impact national NTD master plans in 15 African countries? – Journal: Toxicon – Published: 3rd December 2025
The CSF transcriptome in adults with pneumococcal meningitis reveals compartmentalised host inflammatory responses associated with mortality – Journal: Immunology Letters – Published: 1st December 2025
Nationwide variation of snakebite incidence in Kenya: Community surveys as an integrated NTD approach – Journal: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases – Published: 21st November 2025
Scorpion sting: a narrative review and proposed guidelines for contemporary UK armed forces operations – Journal: BMJ Military Health – Published: 20th October 2025
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