Dr Naomi Walker

Biography

Dr Naomi Walker is a Senior Clinical Lecturer in experimental medicine at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and an NHS Consultant in Infectious Diseases and General Medicine, at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Naomi has undergraduate degrees in Physiological Sciences from the University of Oxford and Medicine from University College London and completed postgraduate medical training in London. She completed the Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in London in 2007 and has subsequently worked as a clinician in Australia, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa and Sierra Leone and UK, specialising in tropical medicine and general internal medicine.

Research interests

Naomi’s research focus is on high burden infectious diseases, previously at University of Cape Town and Imperial College London (Wellcome Clinical Research Training Fellowship and PhD) and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (National Institute for Health and Care Research Academic Clinical Lectureship).

Her major research interest is TB immunopathology, how M. tuberculosis detrimentally subverts host immune responses in active TB, and understanding the influence of HIV infection on TB disease.

She has also conducted research on Ebola Virus Disease and more recently on SARS-CoV-2 infection as principal investigator on the SAFER Study (SARS-CoV-2 Acquisition in Frontline Healthcare Workers – Evaluation to Inform Response).

Naomi is British Thoracic Society Clinical Service Advisor for Drug-resistant TB. She also received a 2020 Director’s Catalyst Fund award to investigate markers associated with a TB treatment response, to support the evaluation of therapies for HIV-associated TB, in the UK and Malawi.

Teaching

Naomi is TB module co-lead for the Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and Diploma in Tropical Nursing and lectures on the Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Selected research publications

Proceedings from the Third International Post-Tuberculosis Symposium: expanding the circle – Journal: IJTLD Open – Published: 10th December 2025

Leishmaniasis in the United Kingdom: Experience of a national multidisciplinary team meeting in a non-endemic setting – Journal: Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease – Published: 25th September 2025

Perceived coercion amongst healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic – Journal: Scientific Reports – Published: 8th February 2025

Elevated Plasma Matrix Metalloproteinases Are Associated With Mycobacterium tuberculosis Bloodstream Infection and Mortality in Human Immunodeficiency Virus–Associated Tuberculosis – Journal: Journal of Infectious Diseases – Published: 2nd September 2024

Pathogenesis of Post-Tuberculosis Lung Disease: Defining Knowledge Gaps and Research Priorities at the Second International Post-Tuberculosis Symposium – Journal: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine – Published: 1st September 2024

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