Todd Swarthout MSc

Infectious Diseases Field Epidemiologist and Principal Investigator

Todd obtained his MSc (Public Health in Developing Countries) from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 2001. He subsequently worked 12 years as epidemiologist with Médecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) and Médecins du Monde (MDM). This included work for7 years as field epidemiologist in several subSaharan countries, including DRC, southern Sudan, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria. Todd also worked 5 years as Senior Health Advisor and emergency/outbreak epidemiologist for MSF and MDM during headquarter postings in Paris and Amsterdam. Prior to joining LSTM, Todd worked for 2 years in Amsterdam with Novartis Vaccines, leading the epidemiology portfolio in work to develop a GBS vaccine.

Prior to his work in infectious diseases epidemiology, Todd trained in the field of forestry and natural resource conservation. He lived many years in rural coastal northern California, teaching field biology at an independent secondary school and leading a number of local environmental campaigns, one of which led to the 1999 creation of the Headwaters State Forest Reserve.

Research

Todd currently works with the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, based in Malawi with the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust (MLW) Clinical Research Programme. Todd leads a number of projects, including the PCVPA project, a 4-year programme to assess the impact of PCV13 on pneumococcal carriage after its 2011 introduction into Malawi’s EPI schedule (funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation [BMGF]). Todd is PI of the PAVE study, a 3.5-year BMGF-funded evaluation to assess the impact of the WHO-approved 2+1 PCV13 vaccine schedule in Blantyre District, Malawi.

Selected publications

  • Recent publications:

    Pan-GWAS of Streptococcus agalactiae highlights lineage-specific genes associated with virulence and niche adaptation. Andrea Gori, Odile Harrison, Ethwako Mlia, Yo Nishihara, Jacquline Chinkwita-Phiri, Macpherson Mallewa, Queen Dube, Todd D Swarthout, Angela N Hobbs, Martin Maiden, Neil French, Robert S Heyderman. (2019) bioRxiv; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/574152

    Determinants of high residual post-PCV13 pneumococcal vaccine type carriage in Blantyre, Malawi: a modelling study. José Lourenço, Uri Obolski, Todd D. Swarthout, Andrea Gori, Naor Bar-Zeev, Dean Everett, Arox W. Kamng’ona, Thandie S. Mwalukomo, Andrew A. Mataya, Charles Mwansambo, Marjory Banda, Sunetra Gupta, Neil French, Robert S. Heyderman. (2018) bioRxiv; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/477695v2.

    High residual prevalence of vaccine-serotype Streptococcus pneumoniae carriage after introduction of a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in Malawi: a prospective serial cross-sectional studyTodd D. Swarthout, Claudio Fronterre, José Lourenço, Uri Obolski, Andrea Gori, Naor Bar-Zeev, Dean Everett, Arox W. Kamng’ona, Thandie S. Mwalukomo, Andrew A. Mataya, Charles Mwansambo, Marjory Banda, Sunetra Gupta, Peter Diggle, Neil French, Robert S. Heyderman. (2019) bioRxiv; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/445999

    Pneumococcal carriage in households in Karonga District, Malawi, before and after introduction of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccination. Ellen Heinsbroek, Terence Tafatatha, Amos Phiri, Todd D Swarthout,  Maaike Alaerts, Amelia C Crampin, Christina Chisambo, Oddie Mwiba, Jonathan M Read, Neil French Vaccine (2018) 36(48), 7369-7376 

    Gametocyte carriage in uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria following treatment with artemisinin combination therapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis of individual patient data. The World Wide Antimalarial Resistance Network (WWARN) Gametocyte Study Group BMC Medicine (2016) 14:79. DOI: 10.1186/s12916-016-0621-7

    Effect of Short-Term Supplementation with Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food or Micronutrients for Children after Illness for Prevention of Malnutrition: A Randomised Controlled Trial in Uganda. Saskia van der Kam, Stephanie Roll, Todd D Swarthout, Grace Edyegu-Otelu, Akiko Matsumoto, Francis Xavier Kasujja, Cristian Casademont, Leslie Shanks, Nuria Salse-Ubach (2016) PLoS Med 13(2): e1001951. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001951.

    Effect of Short-Term Supplementation with Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food or Micronutrients for Children after Illness for Prevention of Malnutrition: A Randomised Controlled Trial in Nigeria. Saskia van der Kam, Nuria Salse-Ubach, Stephanie Roll, Todd D Swarthout, Sayaka Gayton-Toyoshima, Nma Mohammed Jiya, Akiko Matsumoto, Leslie Shanks (2016) PLoS Med 13 (2): e1001952. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001952.