Vector Biology

The Department of Vector Biology is a diverse international community working on research to support the control and elimination of vector-borne diseases – specifically those that disproportionately affect the world’s poorest populations.

Our research spans a broad portfolio, including functional genomics, behaviour, and ecology of disease vectors, clinical trials, implementation research, and the development of tools for monitoring and evaluating of disease transmission.

Our leading global research explores diseases such as malaria, dengue and Zika. Through large-scale collaborations across Africa, Asia and Latin America, we study the genetics, behaviour and ecology of vectors to understand how infections spread and evolve, and develop and evaluate innovative tools to monitor, control, and ultimately eliminate these vector-borne diseases.

Research areas

Our research focuses on four key areas:

• Resistance: The evolution of resistance, initially focused on insecticides and increasingly encompassing antimicrobial resistance, remains a cornerstone of our research. LSTM has world-leading capabilities in this field including genomic surveillance and novel resistance screening technologies.
• Trials and implementation: Our staff have led or played pivotal roles in major vector control tool trials (VCT) and host a leading group of VCT trialists globally, supported by an equitable network of partners. Future planned growth includes trialling genetically modified mosquitoes and/or mosquitoes with altered microbiomes.
• Control of emerging and re-emerging vector-borne pathogens: We continue to invest in, grow and diversify our portfolio in this area, including viral and tick-borne pathogens, to ensure resilience against emerging threats.
• Anthropogenic change: Recognising the intersection of extreme weather events and anthropogenic change as major drivers of vector-borne disease transmission risk, our future research and growth will focus on this emergent health issue.

We are an active teaching department and our researchers actively contribute to postgraduate, and doctoral programmes, with many teaching and supervising students alongside their research.