Our programmes of research on infectious diseases of people and animals, including zoonotic diseases that spread between them, span all scales, from the gene to the population. We are a leading centre for research into emerging diseases, including SARS-CoV-2, Ebola, Zika, parasitic and vector-borne diseases.

Our research challenges

Food security

A critical global challenge is the triple burden of malnutrition: food insufficiency, micronutrient deficiencies, and health problems arising from overnutrition. Addressing this challenge demands food systems that can provide affordable, accessible and safe food for all, regardless of socio-economic status or geographical location.

Antimicrobial resistance

Microbes are gaining resistance to the treatments used to control them, making antimicrobial resistance one of the greatest current threats to human and animal health. We are investigating the clinical and environmental factors that drive the evolution and development of resistance and developing novel antimicrobial treatment strategies.

Adaptation to environmental change

The world's natural and agricultural resources face major challenges from a changing climate and a growing human population. We aim to understand the fundamental biology of how organisms respond to environmental change.

Emerging infectious diseases

The health of people and animals is threatened by infectious diseases that often emerge in response to our rapidly changing world – driven by change to the environment or climate, global travel and trade, urbanisation and the rise of antimicrobial resistance.