Profile photo Todd Swarthout

Todd Swarthout

Assistant Professor

Strategic program(s):

Biography

Todd obtained his MSc (Public Health in Developing Countries, Emphasis: infectious diseases epidemiology) from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) in 2002. He obtained his PhD (work to optimise impact of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) in reducing carriage and disease in Malawi) from the University of Liverpool.

Todd worked for 10 years with Médecins sans Frontières (MSF, Artsen zonder Grenzen) and Médecins du Mond (MDM, Dokters van de Wereld), including extensive work as field epidemiologist in several subSaharan locations and as Senior Health Advisor and emergency/outbreak epidemiologist during headquarter postings in Paris and Amsterdam. Todd subsequently worked with Novartis Vaccines (later GlaxoSmithKline) in Amsterdam, leading the epidemiology portfolio in work to develop a GBS vaccine.

Prior to his joining the Julius Center, Todd lived with his family in Malawi (2015-2021), based at the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Clinical Research Programme. As Senior Research Fellow with the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and the University College London (UCL), Todd developed and led the Pneumonia and Meningitis Pathogens Research Group, leading a portfolio of projects evaluating vaccine impact on duration of antibody immuity, carriage dynamics and disease incidence.

Prior to his 20+ years in infectious diseases epidemiology, Todd trained in the field of forestry and natural resource conservation. Todd lived in coastal northern California, teaching field biology at an independent secondary school and leading a number of local environmental campaigns. One of these led to the 1999 creation of the Headwaters State Forest Reserve along California’s Redwood Coast.

Recent publications

Expansion of pneumococcal serotype 23F and 14 lineages with genotypic changes in capsule polysaccharide locus and virulence gene profiles post introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in Blantyre, Malawi Rory Cave, Akuzike Kalizang'oma, Chrispin Chaguza, Thandie S Mwalukomo, Arox Kamng'ona, Comfort Brown, Jacquline Msefula, Farouck Bonomali, Roseline Nyirenda, Todd D Swarthout, Brenda Kwambana-Adams, Neil French, Robert S Heyderman
Microbial genomics, 2024, vol. 10
Clonal Expansion of a Streptococcus pneumoniae Serotype 3 Capsule Variant Sequence Type 700 With Enhanced Vaccine Escape Potential After 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Introduction Akuzike Kalizang'oma, Todd D Swarthout, Thandie S Mwalukomo, Arox Kamng'ona, Comfort Brown, Jacquline Msefula, Hayley Demetriou, Jia Mun Chan, Lucy Roalfe, Uri Obolski, Jose Lourenço, David Goldblatt, Chrispin Chaguza, Neil French, Robert S Heyderman
The Journal of infectious diseases, 2024, vol. 230, p.e189–e198
Invasiveness potential of pneumococcal serotypes in children after introduction of PCV13 in Blantyre, Malawi Amir Kirolos, Todd D. Swarthout, Andrew A. Mataya, Farouck Bonomali, Comfort Brown, Jacquline Msefula, Naor Bar-Zeev, Pui Ying Iroh Tam, Maaike Alaerts, Sithembile Bilima, Robert S. Heyderman, Neil French
BMC Infectious Diseases, 2023, vol. 23
Omicron B.1.1.529 variant infections associated with severe disease are uncommon in a COVID-19 under-vaccinated, high SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence population in Malawi Upendo L. Mseka, Jonathan Mandolo, Kenneth Nyoni, Oscar Divala, Dzinkambani Kambalame, Daniel Mapemba, Moses Kamzati, Innocent Chibwe, Marc Y.R. Henrion, Kingsley Manda, Deus Thindwa, Memory Mvula, Bright Odala, Raphael Kamng'ona, Nelson Dzinza, Khuzwayo C. Jere, Nicholas Feasey, Antonia Ho, Abena S. Amoah, Melita Gordon, Todd D. Swarthout, Amelia Crampin, Robert S. Heyderman, Matthew Kagoli, Evelyn Chitsa-Banda, Collins Mitambo, John Phuka, Benson Chilima, Watipaso Kasambara, Kondwani C. Jambo, Annie Chauma-Mwale
EClinicalMedicine, 2023, vol. 56
The metabolic, virulence and antimicrobial resistance profiles of colonising Streptococcus pneumoniae shift after PCV13 introduction in urban Malawi Uri Obolski, Todd D. Swarthout, Akuzike Kalizang’oma, Thandie S. Mwalukomo, Jia Mun Chan, Caroline M. Weight, Comfort Brown, Rory Cave, Jen Cornick, Arox Wadson Kamng’ona, Jacquline Msefula, Giuseppe Ercoli, Jeremy S. Brown, José Lourenço, Martin C. Maiden, Neil French, Sunetra Gupta, Robert S. Heyderman
Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14
A comparison of four epidemic waves of COVID-19 in Malawi; an observational cohort study Catherine Anscombe, Samantha Lissauer, Herbert Thole, Jamie Rylance, Dingase Dula, Mavis Menyere, Belson Kutambe, Charlotte van der Veer, Tamara Phiri, Ndaziona P. Banda, Kwazizira S. Mndolo, Kelvin Mponda, Chimota Phiri, Jane Mallewa, Mulinda Nyirenda, Grace Katha, Henry Mwandumba, Stephen B. Gordon, Kondwani C. Jambo, Jennifer Cornick, Nicholas Feasey, Kayla G. Barnes, Ben Morton, Philip M. Ashton, Wezzie Kalua, Peter Mandala, Barbara Katutula, Rosaleen Ng’oma, Steven Lanken, Jacob Phulusa, Mercy Mkandawire, Sylvester Kaimba, Sharon Nthala, Edna Nsomba, Lucy Keyala, Beatrice Chinoko, Markus Gmeiner, Vella Kaudzu, Bridget Freyne, Todd D. Swarthout, Pui Ying Iroh Tam, Simon Sichone, Ajisa Ahmadu, Grace Stima, Mazuba Masina, Oscar Kanjewa, Vita Nyasulu, End Chinyama, Allan Zuza, Brigitte Denis,
BMC Infectious Diseases, 2023, vol. 23