MRes Infectious & Tropical Diseases

In order to be admitted to the MRes, an applicant must:

• hold either a first degree at Upper Second Class Honours (2:1) standard in a relevant discipline, or a degree in medicine recognised by the UK General Medical Council (GMC) for the purposes of practising medicine in the UK, or another degree of equivalent standard awarded by an overseas institution recognised by UK ENIC or the GMC.

or

• hold a professional qualification appropriate to the programme of study to be followed obtained by written examinations and judged by LSHTM to be equivalent to an Upper Second Class Honours (2:1) degree or above.

See our website for fees

Our graduates work in academic institutions, research institutes, public health agencies, international organisations and policy settings worldwide. The MRes Infectious & Tropical Diseases is specifically designed to support progression to research-intensive pathways by providing advanced methodological training and substantial experience of independent investigation.

Graduates are well prepared to progress to:

• PhD and doctoral training programmes
• Research positions within academia and industry
• Clinical academic training pathways
• Roles within global health organisations and international research collaborations
• Public health agencies and advisory bodies
• Research translation and policy-focused positions

The programme provides a strong foundation for careers that combine scientific rigour with public health impact.

Before you apply, please review the project portfolio below and select up to two projects that match your research interests.

As part of the application process, please upload a project choice statement of up to 500 words.  Your chosen project(s) should be listed in preference order with a supporting rationale explaining how they align with your research interests and how they will support your future career.  Please note that the project choice statement is separate from your personal statement, which you will also need to complete as per the instructions on the application portal.

Eligible applications submitted via the application portal will be reviewed as they are received and suitable applicants will be invited to interview.  

The project portfolio is updated regularly as projects are allocated and is intended to reflect current availability as closely as possible. However, because applications are processed on an ongoing basis, the list below may not always provide a complete picture of project availability. Early application is therefore strongly recommended to maximise your chances of securing your preferred project.

Disease Control

• DC1    London    Delayed Malaria Following Perennial Malaria Chemoprevention in Côte d'Ivoire
• DC2    Uganda    Genomic Characterization & Transmission Dynamics of Mpox Virus in Uganda: A Multi-Platform Approach
• DC3    London    Paratyphi Mykrobe – a tool for enhanced genomic epidemiology of enteric fever pathogens
• DC4    Zambart, Zambia    New Tools for TB screening
• DC5    London and The Gambia    Development of a multivalent poultry vaccine to prevent Campylobacter and Salmonella infection
• DC6    Uganda    Rural–urban residence and parasitic infections in yellow fever vaccine waning in Ugandan adolescents
• DC7    London    Malaria parasite infection measurements to understand temporal changes in endemic populations
• DC8    London and Ghana    Developing Multiplex Tools for Detecting Invasive Vectors and Pathogens in Field Settings
• DC9    London    The role of economic development in historical success stories of malaria elimination
  Pathogen biology (viruses) - see project summaries

Pathogen biology (viruses)

• PB1    UKHSA, Porton Down, UK    Tools for differentiating Chikungunya (CHIKV), Ndumu (NDUV), and O'nyong-nyong (ONNV) viruses

Pathogen biology (bacteria)

• PB2    London    Dissecting the role of the T6SS to antagonize the gut microbiome by enteric pathogens
• PB3    London    Beyond the model strain: decoding Campylobacter genome function through C. coli
• PB4    London    Dissecting the antibacterial role of Campylobacter's T6SS and its effectors
• PB5    London    Investigating menaquinone-mediated resensitisation of drug-resistant tuberculosis
• PB6    London    Vitamin B12-dependent remodeling of the Mycobacterial surfaceome
• PB7    London    Characterising mycobacterial genomic diversity using sequencing, bioinformatics, and AI

Pathogen biology (protozoal parasites) 

• PB8    London    Dissecting the mechanistic role of PfACS-ADP in regulating mitochondrial energy metabolism
• PB9    London    Drug resistance by dormancy: How do trypanosomes sleep and avoid elimination?
• PB10    London    Bacterial expression, enzyme kinetics and protein structure of a novel malaria lactate dehydrogenase
• PB11    London    Characterisation of novel invasion genes in the malaria parasite Plasmodium knowlesi
• PB12    The Gambia    Adaptive variation in parasite sexual commitment for transmission of malaria in The Gambia
• PB13    London    How haptomonad promastigotes influence Leishmania transmission from sand flies
• PB14    London    Decoding rDNA transcriptional regulation in trypanosomatid parasites

Pathogen-host cell interactions 

• PB15    London    Complement evasion in Klebsiella pneumoniae: the role of Factor H
• PB16    London    Investigation of cell-autonomous immune responses to pathogenic bacteria
• PB17    London    Modulating antibody production through adaptation of secretory cargo machinery