Trypanosome Research

Based in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Bristol, we research aspects of the genetics, taxonomy and evolution of the African tsetse-transmitted trypanosomes using a combination of techniques from parasitology, molecular and cell biology.

At present we receive funding from BBSRC to investigate sexual reproduction in the livestock pathogens Trypanosoma brucei and Trypanosoma congolense. Sexual reproduction in pathogens is important, because it enables genes for traits such as drug resistance or virulence to move from strain to strain, potentially creating new strains of the pathogen. We also have a major BBSRC-funded project on analysis of the genomes of Trypanosoma congolense and its relatives to discover why some of these trypanosomes are specific for pig hosts while other species infect a wide range of animals. 

Videos

We have a range of videos on our research on the School of Biological Sciences Youtube page. 

Contact Information

School of Biological Sciences, Life Sciences Building, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ.
phone: +44 (0)117 394 1183 (Internal 41183)
e-mail: W.Gibson@bristol.ac.uk