Biography
Ruth Cowlishaw completed a BSc in Biology at Liverpool John Moores University, going on to undertake a postgraduate MSc in Biology and Control of Parasites and Disease Vectors at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM). Following this she undertook a technical role investigating insecticide resistance within Anopheles mosquito populations. Throughout her time in the Vector Department at LSTM, she was responsible for rearing mosquitoes, undertaking bioassays, and helping to design CRISPR Cas-9 experiments to investigate individual KDR mutations in isolation.
From there, following her passion for public engagement Ruth moved to the Education Department, becoming a Teaching Laboratory Assistant. Over two years she helped teach a variety of students diagnostic parasitology and laboratory techniques. This also allowed her to join the Hybridisation in urogenital schistosomiasis team in Malawi to undertake fieldwork, investigating the hybridisation of schistosomes along the shores of Lake Malawi.
In 2024 Ruth started HER studies as a Medical Research Council Doctoral Training Partnership PhD researcher at LSTM under the guidance of Prof Russell Stothard.
Research interests
Ruth’s research interests are strongly One Health focused, understanding the links between human and animal infections. Her studies will mainly focus on understanding the transmission and epidemiology of the zoonotic parasitic nematodes trichuris (whipworms) and strongyloides, investigating infections in captive and wild primates. Her investigations will involve working closely alongside Knowsley Safari and their baboon colony.
Selected research publications
Clinical morbidity of single or mixed schistosome species infection in two communities of southern Malawi – Journal: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences – Published: 8th January 2026
Dynamic interactions between Schistosoma haematobium, Schistosoma mattheei and Schistosoma mansoni underscore the complex polyparasitism of intestinal schistosomiasis in southern Malawi – Journal: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences – Published: 8th January 2026
Tracking the spatial and longitudinal dynamics of mixed infections of urogenital and intestinal schistosomiasis, inclusive of Schistosoma mattheei, in two sentinel rural communities from southern Malawi – Journal: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences – Published: 8th January 2026
A longitudinal study of men with male genital schistosomiasis (MGS) in Southern Malawi associated with human, zoonotic and hybrid schistosomes – Journal: Parasitology – Published: 13th October 2025
An investigation of female genital schistosomiasis and associated genital infections in southern Malawi – Journal: Parasitology – Published: 1st September 2025
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