MalariaGEN Investigator - Tom Williams

KEMRI-Wellcome Research Programme, Kilifi and Nairobi, Kenya

Tom Williams is Wellcome Senior Research Fellow in Clinical Science & Honorary Consultant Paediatician at the KEMRI-Wellcome Research Programme. His scientific focus is on haemoglobinopathies, including thalassaemia and sickle haemoglobin. These are common genetic disorders of man which in their carrier forms they result in a survival advantage to malaria disease. However, in their homozygous states they may lead to severe disease and early death.

The main theme of Tom William's research is to understand more about these conditions, their advantages and their disadvantages, in the hope that these insights might result in the development of new approaches to the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. His team is studying the ways in which these conditions protect against malaria through studies in the field and in the laboratory; their distributions in populations both in Kenya and internationally; and their negative effects, particularly with regard to sickle cell disease.

Tom Williams and his team are contributing to Consortial Project 1, Consortial Project 2 and Consortial Project 3. More >>