Tropical Disease Biology

We are a leading national and international research and teaching department with a focus on translational research of tropical infectious diseases.

Our research is focused on solutions with potential to make a material impact on the health and wellbeing of people from resource poor settings. We conduct research across all major human infections to address unmet global health challenges.

Working with collaborators across the world we have long-established links with academic and non-academic partners including governmental, non-governmental organisations, product development partnerships and industry, in more than 50 predominantly low- and middle-income countries.

Our expertise

We have expertise in three main areas:

• Anti-Microbial Resistant pathogen diseases, particularly tuberculosis, non-TB mycobacteria, and priority multi-drug resistant “ESKAPEE” bacteria
• Emerging and re-emerging viral diseases, including ‘high consequence’ viruses of pandemic potential (e.g. zika, dengue, SARS-Cov-2, influenza, HIV)
• Malaria and neglected tropical diseases with a focus on intestinal nematodes, schistosomes, filarial worms, and snakebite

The department is home to three specialist research centres:

• Centre for Snakebite Research and Interventions
• Centre for Drugs and Diagnostics
• Centre for Neglected Tropical Diseases

These centres bring together expertise across LSTM in clinical and applied health research, including clinical trials, medical statistics, evidence synthesis, social science and health economics. They support work across the translational continuum from basic science to population health impact and drive interdisciplinary collaboration, using insights from evaluation in end-user populations and health systems to inform next-generation laboratory innovation and translation.

Global impact

We have built strong partnerships with colleagues in endemic-countries, including through the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Programme. These collaborations generate impact-focused research questions from intervention programmes that feed into our laboratory research and accelerate the translation of discoveries from bench to application, maximising impact in areas where it is needed most.

Our researchers actively contribute to undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programmes as well as providing specialist training in translational and global health research, with many teaching and supervising students alongside their research.