One of the main ways to control leishmaniasis is to control the insect or disrupt the insect part of the parasite life cycle (pdf of cycle)  but our  knowledge of the sand fly in relation to development of the parasite is inadequate for developing new targets for control.

One of our main projects is to identify the genes  involved in the interaction of the sand fly and the parasite that it transmits and this will greatly extend our knowledge  of the interaction between insect  and Leishmania  and provide a sound basis  for developing new control systems for this disease. We are also involved in field based research examining the spread of the disease in urban environments in Brazil.

If you are searching for  general information about Leishmania there are a couple of good sites which might give you the information that you want. There is a WHO site on Leishmania and a leishmaniasis disease information site provided by TDR (a research and training programme for tropical diseases).

Please note that we are unable to advise you about issues relating to your personal health and leishmaniasis.

We research many aspects of sand flies and their Leishmania parasites in both the laboratory and field work, we are always interested to discuss potential collaborative projects. Contact us for more information.

Have you seen our own artistic interpretation of the Leishmania life  cycle? Superkalazarbanana. Our own version of the iconic Liverpool sculpture.

Much of our work is funded by