Dr Thomas Peacock

Tom completed his PhD on avian influenza virus between the Pirbright Institute and Imperial College London in 2016, supervised by Professor Munir Iqbal and Professor Wendy Barclay. Tom undertook his first postdoc at UCL, working on HIV and innate immune sensing in the laboratory of Greg Towers before moving to Imperial College in 2018 to undertake a second postdoc in the group of Professor Wendy Barclay. During this second postdoc Tom initially worked on cross-species adaptation of influenza viruses before starting work on the evolution and adaptation of SARS-CoV-2 during the pandemic, chiefly as a member of the UK G2P virology consortium. Also during the pandemic Tom was seconded part time to UKHSA as an advisor on SARS-CoV-2 variants. Tom started a group as a fellow at the Pirbright Institute in 2023, while also holding an honorary lectureship at Imperial College London. The zoonotic influenza viruses group focuses on the adaptation of influenza viruses between different hosts including wildlife, livestock and humans.