Tom Churcher

Mosquito nets have prevented more malaria than anything else and remain the most cost-effective tool we have. People use them, they work, but they don't last for very long. Is it time to distribute nets more frequently than once every three years?

Well I did not know that. Could raises many questions. Missed the pre-print www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Generous international scolarships for our MSc in Epidemiology here in London. In memory of Bob May. My career is 100% resulting from something similar to this *cough* *cough* 25 *cough*.....years ago! www.imperial.ac.uk/study/fees-a...

Hello UK, West Nile Virus carrying mosquito Culex modestus is coming to a ditch near you! link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Sorry, proper link. www.science.org/content/arti...

This is so sad. Burkinabe scientists have been at the forefront of the development of GM mosquitoes. They have been meticulous and patient, showing how this technology should be implemented. I fear this decision will cost a huge number of lives. www.malariaworld.org/news/after-h...

"we found that mosquitoes are drawn to those who avoid sunscreen, drink beer, and share their bed".......

🚨 New publication! Our RCT in 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso & 🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire shows that adding either non-pyrethroid indoor residual spraying (IRS) or intensive behaviour change communication (BCC) to LLINs reduces #malaria burden. In @lancetgh.bsky.social : doi.org/10.1016/S221... #GlobalHealth #VectorControl

Our pre-print "Simplifying mosquito sampling to estimate community biting exposure and malaria indoor vector control impact" is now available! doi.org/10.21203/rs..... 1/n #malaria #mosquitoes #vectors

Infectious Disease Modelling starter pack update! First pack is full so I created a second one. Pls keep on sending suggestions! (bio should contain experience relevant for this pack) IDModelling pack 1: go.bsky.app/86Ao1a5 IDModelling pack 2 : go.bsky.app/2oBB7KX

Over 130 academics signed letter informing Prime Minister Keir Starmer that foreign aid cuts will cost lives & threatens the fight against disease Thimoty Hallett, @thomaschurcher.bsky.social Caroline Trotter @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social @imperialsph.bsky.social www.thetimes.com/uk/science/a...

USAID cuts have halted Demographic and Health Surveys that are essential for tracking diseases like HIV and malaria. Huge loss that threatens global security and the efficient distribution of aid. Apparently the UN is trying to track scale of impact. Please respond. form.jotform.com/250913880478...

Our new preprint (ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...) describes✨AedesTraits✨ (zenodo.org/records/1514...) - A global database on temperature-trait responses in Aedes mosquitoes. #AedesTraits holds >31,000 rows of fully open data extracted from published literature (1930s to 2025)!

As we try to understand how climate change impacts malaria @isaacstopard.bsky.social looked how daily temperature fluctuations impact development in mosquitoes. Quite a bit it seems, but still unclear in wild mosies. Lovely data from Antoine Sanou but we need more! www.nature.com/articles/s42...

A tracker estimating deaths from freezing PEPFAR pepfar.impactcounter.com #HIVsky #TBsky #IDsky

March issue of The Lancet Microbe will be online next week, but you can read our editorial already.

A very sad and counterproductive decision. Aid when you don’t know where diseases are is immensely inefficient. DHS is a vital long-term resource, both in counties with diseases like malaria, but also those finding new global threats. Everyone will be flying blind. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/26/h...

Target mosquitoes as they sugar feed shows considerable promise. We looked how these new tools could be used alongside existing malaria control and explored reasons why they might not be as good as early mosquito data suggested. Take_home - we just don't know what the mosi is doing!

The real damage to emergency response is probably much larger. On top of the cut to WHO, the US deployed much of their funds for emergency response via the CDC and other US organizations. healthpolicy-watch.news/crucial-who-...

Interested in Lassa fever? Hear @drpdoohan.bsky.social summarise our Lassa review, recently published in @thelancet.bsky.social Global Health and part of our wider multi-pathogen review project: bit.ly/imperial-PERG

Interesed in the inteaction between global health, modelling and policy? Come join us at @mrc-outbreak.bsky.social as a technical analyst primarily working on malaria! www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...

Super exiting paper from Olivia Lamera & Meta Roestenberg et al using GM malaria infected mosquitoes to vaccinate people against malaria. Early days and the use-case unclear but really interesting science. www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/...

Hello Bsky! I work on real-time outbreak response and statistical methods/software to support this, and wanted to point to this recent work led by my amazing colleague @eonore, looking at the extent to which our team work on COVID-19 influenced policy globally: doi.org/10.1186/s129...

We need more ways to kill mosquitoes, especially outside the home where most people are vulnerable. Got a crazy way of clobbering mossies? If so, this call is for you. www.ivcc.com/call-for-pro...