Dr Katrina A Lythgoe

I am interested in applying ecological and evolutionary theory to better predict the evolutionary dynamics of infectious disease in humans and other species, with the ultimate aim of informing public health decisions. My current research is focused on the within- and between-host evolution of HIV and in particular on the consequences of population structure on the evolutionary dynamics of the virus. I am member of the Evolutionary Epidemiology Group, led by Professor Christophe Fraser, within the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College London.

Previously, I was the Editor of Trends in Ecology & Evolution (TREE) for seven years, but I have now returned to research with the help of a Wellcome Trust Re-Entry Fellowship. Before becoming the Editor of TREE my research focussed on using population genetic and population dynamical models to investigate how host-acquired immunity can affect the evolution of pathogens, such as the evolution of sex and recombination in helminths, and the evolution of antigenic variation in trypanosomes.