🧪 🦠 #Mpox virus “acquired during pregnancy should be regarded as a congenital pathogen” particularly in the first trimester MBOTE-SK project followed 89 pregnant women in DR Congo @labgenpath.bsky.social @ispm.unibe.ch @itmantwerp.bsky.social 🧵 1/2 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Finally attempting to clear my 2025 'to-read-list' before the end of year. Just 71 papers to go.....

📣 UKHSA survey on gonorrhoea testing practices in England UKHSA is inviting sexual health services & diagnostic labs to take part in a national survey on current gonorrhoea testing practices across England. ⏱️ 15 minutes 🗓️ Deadline: 14 Jan 2026 🔗 Take part here: surveys.ukhsa.gov.uk/s/sg01bo

Symposium & workshop on inequalities in infectious disease dynamics at LSHTM in April 2026. We aim to will bring together leading researchers and practitioners to share ideas, discuss recent advances, and reflect on future directions. Details & application: iddconf.org/lshtm-sympos... Closing 21 Jan

Leaders at @ukri.org should be seriously looking at the lottery first idea. 68% lower economic costs, increase in diversity of award holders and well received. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Super proud of my student Philippe Ndzomo awarded PhD today at University of Yaounde. His work focused on the emergence of Hameophilus ducreyi as a cause of cutaneous ulcers in Cameroon & Globally pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40338972/ pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39961439/ pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38150487/

We have a PhD project as part of this scheme focused on mathematical modelling of STI transmission. Do get in touch if you are interested.

Incredible retirement talk by Prof. Paul Fine @lshtm.bsky.social Career dedicated to global health, critical enquiry & passion for training next generation in UK & esp Malawi where he left huge legacy. Privilege spend 10+yrs at same institution & humbling to know its not even 1/3 time hes been here.

Please come along tomorrow to celebrate Prof Paul Fine's decades-long work @lshtm.bsky.social and for #PublicHealth worldwide. ❤️‍🩹🌍 📅 9 December 2025 ⏲️ 17.30 📍LSHTM | John Snow Lecture Theatre 🔗 bit.ly/3KDk6Ay

UK Sexual Health Clinicians - can you spare a few minutes to contribute to a survey led by colleagues in Australia on the role of AI in improving diagnosis of anogenital skin conditions? Survey is here: go.unimelb.edu.au/b3a2 @drlaurajwaters.bsky.social @manikkohli.bsky.social

Excited to announce launch of IVM-KIDS consortium. Funded by @globalhealthedctp3.bsky.social & Open Philanthropy & Swiss Government. Aim to deliver data & paediatric friendly formulation to extend use of ivermectin for NTDs to include youngest children who are currently excluded from programmes.

Congratulations to Burrell St Sexual Health: First UK patient into SOS Global - Evaluating mucosal shedding of spirochetes in heterosexual individuals with syphilis. Great collaboration led by Melbourne Sexual Health Centre focused on understanding syphilis transmission.

A group of ID clinical researchers passionate about clinical research and evidence appraisal has just launched the CLARITY initiative (clarityinitiative.org), which aims to improve the generation and interpretation of evidence in ID and Microbiology.

REMINDER 1) Last week to apply for a PhD studentship working on near patient syphilis diagnostics - deadline 5th December. 2) We also have an STI modelling PhD open for applications until mid January. If interested do get in touch.

New preprint: with increasing resistance to ceftriaxone, the last recommended antibiotic for gonorrhea, we urgently need new drugs. Two--zoliflodacin & gepotdiacin--are up for approval by the FDA in Dec. Here we show a point mutation can result in cross-resistance. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Great event at the Red Run for World Aids Day - a bracing, wet, windy but highly enjoyable 10km. Still accepting final donations for an excellent cause - @thelovetankcic.bsky.social

Two funded PhD studentships available to come and work with us. Through my @nihr.bsky.social Professorship & the Health Protection Research Unit on STIs - come & work on syphilis diagnostics. Through MRC LID scheme @lshtm.bsky.social - come & work on mathematical modelling of STI interventions.

𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 🎓 Applications are now open for OUCRU’s fully funded #PhD programme at @ox.ac.uk , offering world-class research training for scientists and clinicians from Vietnam & Indonesia. 👉 Explore more: linktr.ee/oucru

Two syphilis/STI related UK PhD Studentships with our group: Evaluating near-patient syphilis tests with @uclglobalhealth.bsky.social inyurl.com/aw9sapma deadline 5th Dec 2025 Mathematical models to understand partner notification tinyurl.com/2re7xasj deadline 14th Jan 2026 Please do share

Fabulous meeting in Zimbabwe @thruzim.bsky.social for PROMISE Trial Investigating STI screening in 12,000 women in antenatal care thruzim.org/hiv-srh-1/promise Great team across clinical, stats, economics, social science, genomics & basic science to allow us to tackle a wide range of questions

Partner notification is a key part of STI care but uptake in many LMIC settings is low. Our RCT in Zimbabwe tried to improve uptake via financial incentives. Results out in Lancet Global Health. tl;dr Answer was no. Possibly as incentive only averted indirect costs of care & that wasn't enough.

Registration is open for Strep GBI 2026, bringing together ECRs and experts to highlight cutting-edge research focused on crucial aspects of Streptococcal biology. 📌 Durham 🗓️ March 30/31 2026. 🌐 strepgbi.wixsite.com/strep-gbi. Registration and abstracts 👉 pay.durham.ac.uk/event-durham...

UK Infection & related specialty clinicians - we would like your views on the design of RCTs to optimise treatment of Enterococcal bacteraemia. Relevant for ID, microbiology, cardiologists etc.

Two syphilis/STI related UK PhD Studentships with our group: Evaluating near-patient syphilis tests with @uclglobalhealth.bsky.social inyurl.com/aw9sapma deadline 5th Dec 2025 Mathematical models to understand partner notification tinyurl.com/2re7xasj deadline 14th Jan 2026 Please do share

PhD position (London, UK) Develop a model of sexually transmitted infections and understand impact of partner notification on transmission of STIs. with @dr_michaelmarks at LSHTM More details: http://iddjobs.org/jobs/2390

I'm doing a 10K run for charity in November on World AIDS day raising money for @thelovetankcic.bsky.social a fabulous UK sexual health community organisation. Final call for any and all donations to a very worthwhile cause which are gratefully received!

Want to do a PhD on syphilis diagnostics? In collaboration with @uclglobalhealth.bsky.social & @ukhsa.bsky.social we have a funded studentship available via the Health Protection Research Unit on Blood Borne & Sexually Transmitted Infections. Deadline for applications: Friday 5th December 2025.

Want to come and do a PhD on mathematical modelling & sexually transmitted infections? Apply for an MRC funded PhD to come to @lshtm.bsky.social and work on understanding STI transmission dynamics in low resource settings & how we can optimise partner notification as a public health intervention.

I'm doing a 10K run for charity in November on World AIDS day raising money for @thelovetankcic.bsky.social a fabulous UK sexual health community organisation. Final call for any and all donations to a very worthwhile cause which are gratefully received!

Kicking off day 3 Shanghai Syphilis Symposium. There is still a huge amount we can learn from the historic studies to inform our understanding of syphilis immunology and vaccine development.

The Streptococcus Great Britain & Ireland 2026 meeting will bring together ECRs and experts to highlight cutting-edge research focused on crucial aspects of Streptococcal biology, in Durham on March 30th/31st 2026. More information strepgbi.wixsite.com/strep-gbi. Registration opening soon.

Day 2 of the Shanghai International Syphilis Symposium. Bridget Freyne highlighting the inadequacies of current surveillance definitions and mechanisms for congenital syphilis. Algorithms are either to complex for LMIC implementation OR likely result in over investigation in HICs.

Kicking off 3 solid days talking Syphilis at the Shanghai International Syphilis Symposium. Covering epidemiology, diagnostics, treatment, vaccines and more with experts from around the world to drive forward the public health agenda. Sessions online for those not able to be here in person.

Kicking off our MAMS4CL @globalhealthedctp3.bsky.social consortium in Ethiopia. We hope our multi arm multi stage trial will deliver better treatment options for Cutaneous Leishmaniasis, advance our understanding of pathogenesis and build a trial platform that can deliver for years to come.

Things for journals to improve. Needing all author detail (emails, affiliations, contribution role etc) at submission stage. Time consuming ++ & then paper desk rejected = hour wasted. Some journals have made lots of improvements like unformatted submissions & this is one I would love to see!

Apply by 30th October for Academic Infectious Diseases Training in London. If you are thinking of applying to the @lshtm.bsky.social posts then get in touch with the scheme lead - me!

Applications open for Infectious Diseases Academic Clinical Fellowships. Posts at Imperial (cc @grampospath.bsky.social) St Georges, KCL and LSHTM. If interested in LSHTM posts get in touch. KCL, Imperial, LSHTM jobs open to IMT2/3s to start at IMT3/ST4. SGUL open to FY2s to start in IMT1

Interested in a global health PhD? The LSHTM-Wellcome Trust Create PhD scheme will open shortly: www.create-phd.org Open to UK registered health-care professionals inc. doctors, nurses & allied-health professionals. If you want advice or support with an application I'd be happy to discuss.

Ever since I learned about this study enrolling I have been eagerly awaiting the results. Researchers in Uganda took a centuries-old cultural practice mothers carrying babies on their backs in cloth wraps and turned it into a public health tool. You got to love it! www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

The @ukhsa.bsky.social STI Reference Lab has identified a strain of Neisseria gonorrhoeae which evades detection on the Cepheid Xpert CT/GC Assay. Read more in our eurosurveillance article www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2...

In early October we will be hosting an open evening on Academic Clinical Fellowships & Lectureships in Infectious Diseases across all the London programmes. These are integrated clinical academic training programmes for doctors training in the UK. You can sign up here: forms.gle/T867P8qQ2SMvvHhZ9

In early October we will be hosting an open evening on Academic Clinical Fellowships & Lectureships in Infectious Diseases across all the London programmes. These are integrated clinical academic training programmes for doctors training in the UK. You can sign up here: forms.gle/T867P8qQ2SMvvHhZ9

Whenever I see stories like the below. I am reminded of the excellent paper @felly500.bsky.social shared from @thelancet.com www.thelancet.com/journals/lan... Showed that mostly expensive new drugs generate less impact than investing the same amount into other areas of health.

Exited to announce 2 EDCTP consortiums led @lshtm.bsky.social w partners in Europe & West, East & Southern Africa MAMS4CL will deliver seamless Phase 2-3 trial of treatments for Cutaneous Leishmaniasis. IVMKIDS will provide data on paediatric dosing ivermectin down to 5kg/weight for STH & Scabies.

PhD position for January start with me and Neil Ferguson, doing some neat model development for ethnicity-stratified transmission models. Please get in touch with any questions. Home fees (UK) only unfortunately.

Excited @lshtm.bsky.social Clinical Academic Training Programme renewed & expanding. 2026 Jobs: ACFs (pre-PhD) in Infection, Paeds, Renal, Public Health, Primary Care, Ophthalmology ACLs (post-PhD) in Infection, Paeds, Public Health, Primary Care. If interested drop a message.

Phenomenal piece of work by a great team across @mrcunitgambia.bsky.social @lshtm.bsky.social @sheffielduni.bsky.social - Delighted to have played a small part in combining epidemiology & immunology to shed light on what protection for #StrepA might look like & help advance vaccine development.

🧵 Our paper out today in @naturemedicine.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41... On development of #StrepA #Immunity over life course in #TheGambia raising hope for #vaccines on the horizon 1/ #Immunosky #IDsky #MicroSky #globalhealth.

I'm going to be doing a 10K run for charity later this year on World AIDS day raising money for @thelovetankcic.bsky.social a fabulous UK sexual health community organisation. Any and all donations to a very worthwhile cause gratefully received!

Nothing better than talking syphilis! Thanks @ukhsa.bsky.social @thelovetankcic.bsky.social @typemat12.bsky.social @nicolelieberman.bsky.social @manikkohli.bsky.social & others who came to kick off my NIHR Professorship. Looking forward to working with you & communities to improve UK Sexual Health