Tom Walker

I am a medical entomologist and my research group studies novel methods of control for insect-borne diseases such as malaria. The main focus of our research is on the endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia and we explore ways in which this bacterium can be used to reduce human pathogen transmission. My group undertakes both field and lab research and have worked on collaborative projects in numerous malaria-endemic countries including Cameroon, Guinea, Madagascar, Kenya and the DRC. My main interest is now leading the development of Wolbachia-based biological control methods for Anopheles mosquitoes that transmit malaria following the success of my previous work as part of the World Mosquito Program. The Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti mosquito line I created were released into wild populations and has recently been shown to reduce the incidence of symptomatic dengue and hospitalisations by ~77% in a randomised control trial in Indonesia. These lines I created have now been released into more than 12 dengue endemic countries and are having significant effects on dengue transmission. My research interests in malaria have expanded to include collaborations on molecular insecticide resistance and the wider mosquito microbiome. I have also been involved in mosquito surveillance projects in Greece & Albania (West Nile virus), Ghana (malaria parasites), Ethiopia (yellow fever virus), Brazil (Zika virus), Tanzania (lymphatic filariasis parasites), St Lucia (arboviruses) and Madagascar (rift valley fever virus). I am particularly interested in novel methods for vector and pathogen surveillance. In the lab we undertake molecular analysis of wild caught insect samples (mosquitoes, sandflies, ticks) and develop insect embryo injection protocols including projects supporting genetic modification of sandflies (vectors of leishmaniasis) and Triatomine bugs (vectors of Chagas disease). My research has been funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust, Royal Society, MRC, BBSRC, USAid, RSHTM, NHMRC and the Sir Halley Stewart Trust.

Pelloquin, Bethanie, Agossa, Fiacre, Acford-Palmer, Holly, Clark, Tiffany, Ogoma, Sheila B., Williams, Miriam, Basosila, Narcisse, Watsenga, Francis, Metelo, Emery, Oxborough, Richard M. et al. (2025) Novel insecticide resistance mutations associated with variable PBO synergy in Anopheles gambiae s.l. from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Scientific Reports, 15 (1). 27618. doi:10.1038/s41598-025-09016-9 ISSN 2045-2322. Acford-Palmer, Holly, Tadesse, Fitsum G., Manko, Emilia, Phelan, Jody E., Higgins, Matthew, Osborne, Ashley, Kristan, Mojca, Walker, Thomas, Bousema, Teun, Messenger, Louisa A., Clark, Taane G. and Campino, Susana (2025) Genome wide population genetics and molecular surveillance of insecticide resistance in Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes from Awash Sebat Kilo in Ethiopia. S