Dr Bonnie Webster

My research is directed at understanding the biology of parasitic worms particularly those that cause Neglected Tropical Diseases. Our expertise is primarily on Schistosomiasis, a snail born disease that infects millions of people and animals mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our research investigates the evolution, genetic diversity, host-parasite interactions, hybridisation of these extremely adaptable parasites to provide a better understanding of their biology and transmission dynamics so that we can support and guide on going control efforts to relieve the burden of this debilitating disease. Additionally, we use our understanding of the genetic diversity of these parasites and their snail hosts to develop tools to help monitor transmission dynamics and provide better diagnostics for control interventions. We are a WHO collaborating centre for the identification and characterisation of schistosomes and snails and we collaborate with many labs around the world and with in-country institutes and health authorities. As part of our research we collaborate, lead and partake in field work in several endemic African Countries including Tanzania, Zanzibar, Cameroon, Senegal, Ethiopia to obtain collections for research but also to support in-country research, control efforts and capacity building.