George Christophides

Professor George K. Christophides is Chair of Infectious Diseases and Immunity and Director of the Vector Immuno-Genomics and Infection Laboratory (VigiLab) at Imperial College London. He received his PhD from the University of Athens in 2000 and moved to the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) as a Marie Curie Fellow and later as a staff scientist. He joined Imperial College as a Senior Lecturer in 2005 where he became Professor and Chair in 2011. Since 2013, he is also Adjunct Professor at the Cyprus Institute.

Professor Christophides is among world leaders in the fields of insect innate immunity and vector-borne diseases, publishing a series of benchmark papers that contributed to the advancement of these fields. He pioneered the field of mosquito functional genomics and has been centrally involved in sequencing the genomes of disease vector mosquitoes. He has extensive experience in management and coordination of large and international research projects and served as advisor to WHO, the EFSA and other organisations. He is member of various Committees and Institutes, and he is elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology. Since July 2015, he is a Senior Investigator of the Wellcome Trust, from where he received a major award to study the interactions between malaria parasites and their mosquito vectors, and a Special Visiting Fellow of the National Council of Scientific and Technological Development of Brazil.

Throughout his career, Professor Christophides has significantly contributed to teaching and training of young scientists. At Imperial College London, he is currently lecturing undergraduate and postgraduate students pursuing a career in Biological Sciences, Biochemistry and Medicine, while he is an invited speaker in many additional Higher Education Institutions in the United Kingdom and worldwide. He has also supervised the Master’s and Doctoral theses of several young scientists.

Professor Christophides is involved in various public engagement projects. He has written several articles in newspapers, participated in documentaries and has been frequently interviewed by the international press and media.

Education

• PhD University of Athens (1995 — 2000)
• BSc Ethnikon kai Kapodistriakon Panepistimion Athinon (1989 — 1994)

Companies

• Professor of Infectious Diseases and Immunity Imperial College London (2011)
• Reader in Infection and Immunity Imperial College London (2009 — 2011)
• Senior Lecturer Imperial College London (2005 — 2009)
• Staff Scientist EMBL (2003 — 2005)
• Postdoctoral Research Associate EMBL (2002 — 2003)
• Marie Curie Individual Fellow EMBL (2000 — 2002)

Selected Publications

Journals

Bailey AJ, Ukegbu CV, Giorgalli M, et al., 2023, IntracellularPlasmodiumaquaporin 2 is required for sporozoite production in the mosquito vector and malaria transmission

Ukegbu CV, Gomes AR, Giorgalli M, et al., 2023, Reverse genetic screen identifies malaria parasite genes required for gametocyte-to-sporozoite development in its mosquito host

Neira M, Erguler K, Ahmady-Birgani H, et al., 2023, Climate change and human health in the Eastern Mediterranean and middle east: Literature review, research priorities and policy suggestions, Environmental Research, Vol:216, ISSN:0013-9351, Pages:1-23

Windbichler N, 2022, Gene drive mosquitoes can aid malaria elimination by retarding Plasmodium sporogonic development, Science Advances, Vol:8, ISSN:2375-2548, Pages:1-9

Ellis D, Avraam GP, Hoermann A, et al., 2022, Testing non-autonomous antimalarial gene drive effectors using self-eliminating drivers in the African mosquito vector Anopheles gambiae, Plos Genetics, Vol:18, ISSN:1553-7404