London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) was founded in 1899 and is based in the Bloomsbury area of central London, as well as having two major overseas research units in The Gambia and Uganda. LSHTM has an international presence and a collaborative ethos, with staff conducting research in more than 100 countries. Our mission is to improve health and health equity in the UK and worldwide. LSHTM is renowned for its research, postgraduate studies and continuing education in public and global health. Research at the School is wide ranging, from the molecular to the global, the theoretical to the applied, the analytical to the political.

A significant proportion of our research efforts are dedicated to understanding the fundamental biology of pathogens, including many species of viruses, bacteria and eukaryotic parasites. We also study the vectors and external conditions that transmit these infections. Our research is driven by interdisciplinary approaches encompassing molecular and cellular biology, biochemistry, immunology, computational biology and genomics, mathematical modelling and engineering, amongst others. Combining these diverse approaches is enabling researchers at the School to decipher the biology underlying many viral, bacterial and parasitic diseases, providing insights into host-pathogen interactions and the drivers of pathogen spread, and enabling the development of vaccines, drugs and other disease control strategies. 

LSHTM research income has steadily grown to more than £180 million annually from national and international funding sources, including UK government and research councils, the European Union, the Wellcome Trust, Gates Foundation and other philanthropic sources. Looking to the future, LSHTM has invested in building core strengths to enable the continued growth of its internationally leading research groups. Research at LSHTM has benefited from strategic long-term support for state of the art animal facilities, and schedule-5 and category-3 containment units, enabling in vivo studies on pathogens. Ongoing development of overseas research partnerships is enabling growth in the scale and effectiveness of population genomic and epidemiological studies to understand new disease challenges. Furthermore, multi-million pound development of our substantial laboratory infrastructure in London and overseas is ensuring that LSHTM continues to provide state of the art facilities that will enable multidisciplinary cutting edge research into the future.