THE GENOMICS TEAM

We apply across 'omics platforms, perform laboratory experiments and develop informatics software to understand infectious disease biology and interactions between vectors/pathogens and hosts, to assist the development of tools for infection control in public and animal health

Scroll down for a peek into our multidisciplinary team, and tap our names to find out more about us

Jody Phelan

Assistant Professor of Computational Biology

Most of my time is spent looking at the genomic diversity of pathogens (Mycobacterium tuberculosis, NTMs, Plasmodium spp.) using next generation sequencing. My research entails the design and implementation of data analysis pipelines to process and collate terabytes of data from various structured and unstructured sources to provide biological insights such as population structure, transmission and drug resistance

IMPORTANT FACT

I know the genomic coordinates of way more Mtb variants than I'd like to admit

Susana Campino

Professor of Genomics and Infectious Diseases

I completed my PhD at the University of Umea, Sweden on the “Genetic analysis of murine malaria”. In 2004, I was awarded a Marie Curie Post Doc fellowship to work on “Genetic determinants of human severe malaria” at the University of Oxford. In 2007, I moved to The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute to investigate the worldwide genetic diversity of the malaria parasites Plasmodium falciparum. I moved to the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in 2015 to work on evolution of malaria parasite and more

IMPORTANT FACT

Taane Clark

Professor of Genomics and Global Health

Leader in ‘omics studies across infectious diseases, including malaria, tuberculosis, and AMR infections, to understand host susceptibility and pathogen transmission and drug resistance, as well and more. This work involves collaborative projects in >20 countries, and strengthening the application of ‘omics for clinical and surveillance activities, including through the development of informatics tools and providing training.

IMPORTANT FACT

Born in Porirua, New Zealand.

  • Current Team
  • Alumni
Emma Collins

Research fellow

IMPORTANT FACT

Gabrielle Ngwana-joseph

BBSRC LIDO PhD Student

Graduated from the University of York in Biochemistry and LSHTM with an MSc in Medical Parasitology after a brief stint in finance. Fell in love with bioinformatics at LSHTM, so glad to be back as a PhD student on the BBSRC LIDo Doctoral Programme investigating the genomic diversity of non-falciparum malaria species!

IMPORTANT FACT

French speaker, wine lover, 90s R&B connoisseur

Holly Acford-palmer

Research fellow

BBSRC LIDo PhD Student investigating the genomics of understudied malaria vectors. Specifically Brazilian Anopheles darlingi, and Ethiopian Anopheles stephensi populations

IMPORTANT FACT

Passionate scarf knitter

Jamille Dombrowski

Visiting researcher

Graduated in Nursing, I have a Ph.D. in Sciences from the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil) where I have been working with malaria in pregnancy. I have extensive experience in field research, and research involving human subjects, as well as in the areas of clinical research and public health. I am currently a visiting postdoctoral researcher at LSHTM, where I am learning genomics and bioinformatics.

IMPORTANT FACT

An enthusiast in learning genomics and bioinformatics

Joseph Thorpe

Research Assistant

Initially graduated in Biomedicine from Nottingham Trent university, I decided to take a different direction and graduated with an MSc in Bioinformatics from Cranfield University. From there I learned how to visualise genomic data via fancy websites and create Java applications.

IMPORTANT FACT

Passionate chess player and Roman history geek

Leen Vanheer

PhD Student

After completing my medical degree at KU Leuven University in Belgium, I worked on in vitro malaria drug screening at Cornell Medicine in New York City. I am now continuing to study malaria in my PhD at LSHTM, focused on molecular surveillance of drug resistance and using genomics to understand variation in human-to-mosquito transmissibility.

IMPORTANT FACT

Pottery enthusiast and proud plant mom

Linfeng Wang

BBSRC LIDO PhD research student

Biochemistry background from King’s College London. Graduated from Bioengineering master of research degree in Imperial College London. Currently pursuing a PhD degree in infectious disease computational genomics.

IMPORTANT FACT

Loves staring at phlyogenetic trees and find them mesmerising.

Myrela De jesus

Visiting researcher

Graduated in Biology and Master’s Degree in Parasitology, both from the Federal University of Sergipe (UFS). PhD student in Applied Microbiology and Parasitology at the Fluminense Federal University (UFF) and is currently doing a split-PhD at the LSHTM. Has interest in Molecular Genetics, Parasitology, Virology, Immunology and Bioinformatics, with experience in genetics of arboviruses, enteric viruses and malaria.

IMPORTANT FACT

Passionate about books, strong coffee and dancing forró.

Mark Tan

PhD Student

Completed my undergraduate in Biomedical Sciences from King’s College London and postgraduate MSc in Control of Infectious Diseases at LSHTM, which has driven my passion towards tackling parasitic and vector-borne diseases, cumulating into a PhD. I have more fundamentals in wet-lab techniques and practices but slowly growing use to the dry-lab side of science.

IMPORTANT FACT

EU4 enthusiast and gets too competitive at board-games

Nina Billows

RVC-funded PhD Student

I completed my undergraduate degree at Somerville College, University of Oxford in Biological Sciences. Afterwards, I moved back to my hometown in Liverpool to study Tropical Disease Biology at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine where I became more interested in bacterial genomics and bioinformatics. Now undergoing a PhD that combined my interest in infectious diseases (Tuberculosis) with statistics and machine learning.

IMPORTANT FACT

Plays the ukulele!

Naphatcha Thawong

PhD student

I graduated in Medical Technology from Khon Kaen University, Thailand, and later earned an MSc in Bioinformatics from Queen Mary University of London, gaining programming skills and expertise in variant analysis with tools like Exomiser. Since 2016, I’ve been a researcher at the Department of Medical Sciences, focusing on pharmacogenomics, rare diseases, and cancer genetics. Additionally, I managed a project developing a digital platform for sharing pharmacogenetic data via Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR).

IMPORTANT FACT

Embrace the beauty of nature and consider exploring it through hiking

Sophie Moss

Research fellow

Natural Sciences graduate from the University of Cambridge. Four years of industry experience in medical devices, before embarking on an MRC funded PhD at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Fieldwork, laboratory, and bioinformatics experience.

IMPORTANT FACT

5'4" but with a brown belt in Karate

Thomas Roberts

PhD student (OneZoo CDT)

Previous degrees in Biochemistry and Veterinary Science from the University of Sussex and University of Cambridge respectively. Joined TAGC to help tackle emerging infectious diseases on a global scale using a transdisciplinary skillset including genomics, epidemiology, and microbiology. Funded by the OneZoo CDT which focuses on the OneHealth directive.

IMPORTANT FACT

Enjoys long hikes, the record being a 86 mile walk completed in 38 hours (only stopped at the pub a couple of times)

Woranich Hinthong

Postdoc fellow

I graduated from Veterinary School and got my PhD in Tropical Medicne from Mahidol University in Thailand. Currently, I have worked as a lecturer in Medical School in Chulabhorn Royal Academy in Thailand and deal mostly with the pathogenic bacteria in both teaching and research focusing on antibiotic resistance of the bacteria.

IMPORTANT FACT

Travel and food lover