Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases
The Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases includes all the laboratory based researchers at the School, and many clinicians working in the field of infectious diseases.
Dean of Faculty: Brendan Wren
Faculty Secretary and PA to Dean:
Faculty Operating Officer: Gemma Donaldson
Administrative Assistants: Zoe Hope and Lisa Schmidt
Taught Course Director: Graham Clark
Research Degrees Directors: Ron Behrens and Jayne Webster
Research Degrees Administrator: Helen White
Distance Learning Course Director: Patricia Gorak-Stolinska
Tel: +44 (0)20 7927 2637 Fax: +44 (0)20 7927 2739
Objectives
- understanding the biology of pathogens, their interactions with their hosts, and the diseases that they cause
- discovery and development, to proof of concept, of tools for treatment, prevention and control of infectious disease
- design and implementation of interventions for treatment, prevention and control
- deployment and evaluation of interventions to inform policy and practice.
Research
Our main research interests are broadly defined as vector-borne diseases, especially malaria; respiratory diseases including tuberculosis and bacterial pneumonia; enteric infections; HIV and other sexually transmitted infections; neglected tropical diseases including trachoma, leishmaniasis and trypanosomiasis; and the prevention of blindness and disability.
Our position at the interface between laboratory science, clinical medicine and population health, and our close links with colleagues and collaborators in more than 100 countries, ensure that our research is focussed on problems of major public health importance and that the results of our research can be rapidly translated into policy and practice.
Education: teaching & learning
The Faculty runs a number of specialised medical and laboratory-based MSc programmes, as well as a very popular distance learning programme in Infectious Diseases. The short course Diplomas in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and in Tropical Nursing have been fully subscribed in recent years and, in 2011, we successfully launched an East African Diploma of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene that is taught in Moshi, Tanzania and Kampala, Uganda. This and other partnership programmes are expanding.
Knowledge translation & innovation
We have major strengths in the genome sciences, and we exploit this expertise to better understand drug-resistance, disease transmission and pathogenic mechanisms. The Faculty provides a framework which promotes biomedical and technology advances and translates that knowledge to develop new drugs, vaccines, diagnostic reagents and disease control strategies.
These innovations are widely disseminated through our global network. Partner institutions in disease endemic countries are key collaborators in this research. In the UK, we have strong links with the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and UCL. With the latter, we are developing the Bloomsbury Research Institute, a new international centre of excellence in basic, translational and clinical research on infectious diseases.
The International Diagnostics Centre works with diagnostics companies and regulatory authorities worldwide to reduce barriers to market entry for new diagnostic tests, and hence accelerate access to and reduce the costs of new quality-assured diagnostics for low income countries.
The International Centre for Eye Health has developed a smart-phone based system for comprehensive eye examinations that is easy to use, affordable and portable. The Portable Eye Examination Kit (PEEK) uses mobile phone technology to extend the availability of a full range of ophthalmic diagnostic tests to anywhere in the world.
