Dr Aubrey Cunnington

Faculty of Medicine, Department of Infectious Disease

Professor of Paediatric Infectious Disease

Contact

+44 (0)20 7594 3695a.cunnington

Location

244Norfolk PlaceSt Mary's Campus

Summary

I am the Head of Section and Professor of Paediatric Infectious Disease, and also an Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Infectious Diseases at St Mary's Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. My research focuses on the interactions between hosts and pathogens which result in severe infectious diseases, particularly severe malaria. I am interested in understanding why some people get very ill and die from malaria, whilst others have a less severe illness. I am also interested in applying these findings to improve diagnosis and treatment of severe malaria and other infectious diseases. My group uses a variety of approaches, ranging from clinical studies and transcriptomics, to in vitro and in vivo models.

Together with Prof Halidou Tinto, I lead an NIHR Global Health Research Group on Digital Diagnostics for African Health Systems. This multidisciplinary initiative aims to develop innovative diagnostic tools to tackle malaria and other infectious diseases in Africa: https://www.digitaldiagnostics4africa.org/

I am part of the EU-Horizon 2020 DIAMONDS (https://www.diamonds2020.eu/) consortium which seeks to develop personalized management strategies for children with febrile illness based on new diagnostic tests.

Until 2023 I was co-convener of the Imperial College Network of Excellence in Malaria, an interdisciplinary network of more than 100 malaria researchers at Imperial College working together to eradicate malaria: http://www.imperial.ac.uk/network-of-excellence-in-malaria/.

I teach on the BSc course in Global Health, and MSc course in Immunology. I am a module lead for the MSc in Applied Paediatrics and short course in Paediatric Infectious Diseases.

You can access some of our published articles for free with the links below:

This article highlights the challenges of severe malaria: "Piecing together the puzzle of severe malaria" Published in Science Translational Medicine

Reprint: http://stm.sciencemag.org/cgi/rapidpdf/5/211/211ps18?ijkey=PMxNpfnAqBZIE&keytype=ref&siteid=scitransmed

Full Text: http://stm.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/5/211/211ps18?ijkey=PMxNpfnAqBZIE&keytype=ref&siteid=scitransmed

This article describes the use of dual RNA-sequencing to provide an integrated view of host-pathogen interactions in severe malaria:

Abstract: http://stm.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/10/447/eaar3619?ijkey=JY86JCxrcVZBE&keytype=ref&siteid=scitransmed

Reprint: http://stm.sciencemag.org/cgi/rapidpdf/10/447/eaar3619?ijkey=JY86JCxrcVZBE&keytype=ref&siteid=scitransmed

Full text: http://stm.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/10/447/eaar3619?ijkey=JY86JCxrcVZBE&keytype=ref&siteid=scitransmed

Selected Publications

Journal Articles

Baldeh M, Bawa F, Bawah F, et al.Baldeh M, Bawa F, Bawah F, Chamai M, Dzabeng F, Jebreel W, Kabuya J-B, Molemodile Dele Olowu S, Rakotomalala Robinson D, Cunnington A close, 2024, Lessons from the pandemic: new best practices in selecting molecular diagnostics for point-of-care testing of infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa, Expert Review of Molecular Diagnostics, Vol:24, ISSN:1473-7159, Pages:153-159

Andradi-Brown C, Wichers-Misterek JS, von Thien H, et al.Andradi-Brown C, Wichers-Misterek JS, von Thien H, Höppner YD, Scholz JAM, Hansson H, Filtenborg Hocke E, Gilberger TW, Duffy MF, Lavstsen T, Baum J, Otto TD, Cunnington AJ, Bachmann A close, 2024, A novel computational pipeline for var gene expression augments the discovery of changes in the Plasmodium falciparum transcriptome during transition from in vivo to short-term in vitro culture., Elife, Vol:12

Moradi Marjaneh M, Challenger J, salas A, et al.Moradi Marjaneh M, Challenger J, salas A, Gómez-Carballa A, Sivananthan A, Rivero-Calle I, Barbeito-Castiñeiras G, Foo C, Wu Y, Liew F, Jackson H, Habgood-Coote D, D'Souza G, Nichols S, Wright V, Levin M, Kaforou M, Thwaites R, Okell L, Martinon-Torres F, Cunnington A, PERFORM Consortium, GEN-COVID Study Group close, 2023, Analysis of blood and nasal epithelial transcriptomes to identify mechanisms associated with control of SARS-CoV-2 viral load in the upper respiratory tract, Journal of Infection, Vol:87, ISSN:0163-4453, Pages:538-550

Habgood-Coote D, Wilson C, Shimizu C, et al.Habgood-Coote D, Wilson C, Shimizu C, Barendregt AM, Philipsen R, Galassini R, Calle IR, Workman L, Agyeman PKA, Ferwerda G, Anderson ST, van den Berg JM, Emonts M, Carrol ED, Fink CG, de Groot R, Hibberd ML, Kanegaye J, Nicol MP, Paulus S, Pollard AJ, Salas A, Secka F, Schlapbach LJ, Tremoulet AH, Walther M, Zenz W, Pediatric Emergency Medicine Kawasaki Disease Research Group (PEMKDRG), UK Kawasaki Genetics consortium, GENDRES consortium, EUCLIDS consortium, PERFORM consortium, Van der Flier M, Zar HJ, Kuijpers T, Burns JC, Martinón-Torres F, Wright VJ, Coin LJM, Cunnington AJ, Herberg JA, Levin M, Kaforou M close, 2023, Diagnosis of childhood febrile illness using a multi-class blood RNA molecular signature, Med, Vol:4, ISSN:2666-6340, Pages:635-654.e5

Ahu Prah D, Dunican C, Amoah L, et al.Ahu Prah D, Dunican C, Amoah L, Moradi Marjaneh M, Kaforou M, Nordgren A, Jones-Warner W, Aniweh Y, Awandare G, Cunnington A, Hafalla J close, 2023, Asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum infection evades triggering a host transcriptomic response, Journal of Infection, Vol:87, ISSN:0163-4453, Pages:259-262

Malpartida Cardenas K, Moser N, Ansah F, et al.Malpartida Cardenas K, Moser N, Ansah F, Pennisi I, Ahu Prah D, Eva Amoah L, Awandare G, Hafalla JC, Cunnington A, Baum J, Rodriguez Manzano J, Georgiou P close, 2023, Sensitive detection of asymptomatic and symptomatic malaria with seven novel parasite-specific LAMP assays and translation for use at point-of-care, Microbiology Spectrum, Vol:11, ISSN:2165-0497, Pages:1-12

Hamilton F, Mitchell R, Constantinescu A, et al.Hamilton F, Mitchell R, Constantinescu A, Hughes D, Cunnington A, Ghazal P, Timpson NJ close, 2023, The effect of IL-6 signalling on severe malaria: a Mendelian randomisation analysis, International Journal of Infectious Diseases, Vol:129, ISSN:1201-9712, Pages:251-259

Channon-Wells S, Vito O, McArdle AJ, et al.Channon-Wells S, Vito O, McArdle AJ, Seaby EG, Patel H, Shah P, Pazukhina E, Wilson C, Broderick C, D'Souza G, Keren I, Nijman RG, Tremoulet A, Munblit D, Ulloa-Gutierrez R, Carter MJ, Ramnarayan P, De T, Hoggart C, Whittaker E, Herberg JA, Kaforou M, Cunnington AJ, Blyuss O, Levin M, Chouli M, Hamadouche N, Ladj MS, Agrimbau Vázquez J, Carmona R, Collia AG, Ellis A, Natta D, Pérez L, Rubiños M, Veliz N, Yori S, Britton PN, Burgner DP, Carey E, Crawford NW, Giuliano H, McMinn A, Wong S, Wood N, Holter W, Krainz M, Ulreich R, Zurl C, Dehoorne J, Haerynck F, Hoste L, Schelstraete P, Vandekerckhove K, Willems J, Almeida Farias CG, Almeida FJ, Alves Leal I, Araujo da Silva AR, Araujo e Silva AE, Barreiro STA, Bomfim Prado da Silva DG, Cervi MC, dos Santos Naja Cardoso MV, Henriques Teixeira C, Jarovsky D, Martins Araujo J, Naaman Berezin E, Palazzi Sáfadi MA, Paternina-de la Ossa RA, Souza Vieira C, Dimitrova A, Ganeva M, Stefanov S, Telcharova-Mihaylovska A, Biggs CM, Lopez A, Scuccimarri R, Tan R, Wasserman S, Withington D, Ampuero C, Aravena J, Bustos B R, Casanova D, Cruces P, Diaz F, García-Salum T, Godoy L, Medina RA, Valenzuela Galaz G, Camacho-Moreno G, Avila-Aguero ML, Brenes-Chacón H, Camacho-Badilla K, Ivankovich-Escoto G, Naranjo-Zuniga G, Soriano-Fallas A, Ulloa-Gutierrez R, Yock-Corrales A, Amer MA, Abdelmeguid Y, Ahmed YHHZ, Badib A, Badreldin K, Elkhashab Y, Heshmat H, Hussein A, Mohamed Hussein AH, Ibrahim S, Shoman W, Yakout RM, Heinonen S, Angoulvant F, Belot A, Ouldali N, Beske F, Heep A, Masjosthusmann K, Reiter K, van den Heuvel I, von Both U, Agrafiotou A, Antachopoulos C, Charisi K, Eleftheriou I, Farmaki E, Fotis L, Kafetzis D, Koletsi P, Kourtesi K, Lampidi S, Liakopoulou T, Maritsi D, Michailidou E, Milioudi M, Mparmpounaki I, Papadimitriou E, Papaevangelou V, Roilides E, Tsiatsiou O, Tsolas G, Tsolia M, Vantsi P, Banegas Pineda LY, Borjas Aguilar KL, Cantillano Quintero EM, Ip P, Kwan MYW, Kwok J, Lau YL, To K, Wong JSC, David M, Farkas D, Kalcakosz S, Szekeres K, Zsigmond B, Aslam N, Luder A, Andreozzi L, Bianco F, Bucciarelli V, Buonsenso D, Cimaz R, De Luca M, Dellepiane RM, Fabi M, Filice E, Lanari M, Lo Vecchio A, Mastrolia MV, Mauro A, Mazza A, Papa MV, Romani L, Scarano SM, Simonini G, Tipo V, Verdoni L, Macharia A-M, Musiime G, Reel B, Wangai F, Pace D, Torpiano P, Anaya-Enriquez N, Carreon-Guerrero JM, Chacon-Cruz E, Cheung López M, Faugier Fuentes E, Fonseca Flores M, García-Domínguez M, Giron Vargas AL, Lopez-Delgado I, Lopez Hernández L, Menchaca Aguayo HF, Montaño-Duron JG, Pérez-Gaxiola G, Ramos Tiñini P, Tostado-Morales E, Valadez J, Inchley C, Klevberg S, Knudsen PK, Måseide PH, Carrera JM, Castaño E, Daza Timana CA, De Leon T, Estripeaut D, Levy J, Norero X, Record J, Rojas-Bonilla M, Wong M, Iramain R, Hernandez R, Huamán G, Munaico M, Peralta C, Seminario D, Zapata Yarlequé EH, Gadzinska J, Ludwikowska K, Mandziuk J, Okarska-Napierała M, Alacheva ZA, Alexeeva E, Ananin PV, Antsupova M, Bakradze MD, Berbenyuk A, Bobkova P, Borzakova S, Chashchina IL, El-Taravi Y, Fisenko AP, Gautier MS, Glazyrina A, Gorlenko C, Grosheva M, Kiselev H, Kondrikova E, Korobyants E, Korsunskiy AA, Kovygina K, Krasnaya E, Kurbanova S, Kurdup MK, Mamutova AV, Mazankova L, Mitushin IL, Munblit D, Nargizyan A, Orlova YO, Osmanov IM, Polyakova AS, Pushkareva A, Romanova O, Samitova E, Shvedova A, Sologub A, Iakovleva E, Tepaev RF, Tkacheva AA, Yegiyan M, Yusupova V, Zholobova E, Grasa CD, Epalza C, Lopez Segura N, Martinon-Torres F, Melendo S, Mendez-Echevarria A, Mesa Guzmán JM, Palacios Argueta JR, Rivero-Calle I, Rivière J, Rodríguez-González M, Rojo P, Sanchez Manubens J, Soler-Palacin P, Soriano-Arandes A, Tagarro A, Villaverde S, Altman M, Brodin P, Horne A, Palmblad K, Brotschi B, Meyer Sauteur P, Pachlopnik Schmid J, Prader S, Relly C, Schlapbach LJ, Seiler M, Strasser S, Trück J, Weber K, Wütz D, Hamdan A, Melhem I, Moussa A, Dunk J, Ketharanathan N, Vermont C, Akyüz Özkan E, Cetin BS, Erdeniz EH, Şahin IO, Borisova G, Boyarchuk O, Boychenko L, Boyko Y, Diudenko N, Dyvonyak O, Kasiyan O, Katerynych K, Kostyuchenko L, Mamenko M, Melnyk K, Miagka N, Nazarenko L, Nezgoda I, Rykova S, Svyst O, Teslenko M, Trykosh M, Vasilenko N, Volokha A, Adams C, Akomolafe T, Al-Abadi E, Alders N, Alifieraki S, Ansumanu H, Aston E, Avram P, Bamford A, Banks M, Basu Roy R, Beattie T, Boleti O, Bracken A, Broad J, Cai J, Carrol ED, Carter M, Chandran A, Charlesworth J, Chawla J, Cooper H, Cooray S, Davies P, Davis F, Drysdale SB, Dzora E, Emonts M, Evans C, Fidler K, Foster C, Gong C, Gongrun B, Gonzalez C, Gorgun B, Grandjean L, Grant K, Guo J, Hacohen Y, Hall J, Hamid HKS, Hassell J, Hesketh C, Hewlett J, Hnieno A, Holt-Davis H, Hossain A, Hu S, Hudson LD, Jheeta S, Johnson M, Johnson S, Jyothish D, Kampmann B, Kavirayani A, Kelly D, Kirubakaran A, Kucera F, Langer D, Lawson G, Lees EA, Lenihan R, Lillie J, Longbottom K, Lyall H, Mackdermott N, Maltby S, Mclelland T, McMahon A-M, Miller D, Miranda M, Mirza L, Morrison Z, Moshal K, Muller J, Musuka P, Myttaraki E, Nadel S, Nair S, Nuttall L, Oremakinde O, Osaghae D, Osman F, Ostrzewska A, Paccagnella D, Panthula M, Papachatzi E, Papadopoulou C, Patel F, Patel H, Payne H, Penner J, Polandi S, Prendergast AJ, Ramnarayan P, Ranasinghe L, Ravichandran M, Rhys-Evans S, Riordan A, Rodrigues CMC, Roe L, Romaine S, Schobi N, Seddon J, Shingadia D, Sikdar O, Srivastava A, Struik S, Sun T, Tan RW, Taylor A, Taylor A, Taylor A, Tran S, Tsagkaris S, Tudor-Williams G, van den Berg S, van der Velden F, Ventilacion L, Wellman PA, Withers Green J, Yanney MP, Yeung S, Badheka A, Badran S, Bailey DM, Burch AK, Burns JC, Cichon C, Cirks B, Dallman MD, Delany DR, Fairchok M, Friedman S, Geracht J, Langs-Barlow A, Mann K, Padhye A, Quade A, Ramirez KA, Rockett J, Sayed IA, Santos RP, Shahin AA, Tremoulet A, Umaru S, Widener R, Mujuru HA, Kandawasvika G close, 2023, Immunoglobulin, glucocorticoid, or combination therapy for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children: a propensity-weighted cohort study, The Lancet Rheumatology, Vol:5, ISSN:2665-9913, Pages:e184-e199

Cunnington AJ, Digital Diagnostics for Africa Network, 2022, The potential of digital molecular diagnostics for infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa, Plos Digital Health, Vol:1, ISSN:2767-3170

Challenger J, Foo C, Wu Y, et al.Challenger J, Foo C, Wu Y, Yan A, Marjaneh MM, Liew F, Thwaites R, Okell L, Cunnington A close, 2022, Modelling upper respiratory viral load dynamics of SARS-CoV-2, BMC Medicine, Vol:20, ISSN:1741-7015

Georgiadou A, Dunican C, Sorro-Barrio P, et al.Georgiadou A, Dunican C, Sorro-Barrio P, Lee HJ, Kaforou M, Cunnington A close, 2022, Comparative transcriptomic analysis reveals translationally relevant processes in mouse models of malaria, Elife, Vol:11, ISSN:2050-084X

McArdle AJ, Vito O, Patel H, et al.McArdle AJ, Vito O, Patel H, Seaby EG, Shah P, Wilson C, Broderick C, Nijman R, Tremoulet AH, Munblit D, Ulloa-Gutierrez R, Carter MJ, De T, Hoggart C, Whittaker E, Herberg JA, Kaforou M, Cunnington AJ, Levin M close, 2021, Treatment of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, New England Journal of Medicine, Vol:385, ISSN:0028-4793, Pages:11-22

Georgiadou A, Naidu P, Walsh S, et al.Georgiadou A, Naidu P, Walsh S, Kamiza S, Barrera V, Harding SP, Moxon CA, Cunnington AJ close, 2021, Localized release of matrix metallopeptidase 8 in fatal cerebral malaria, Clinical & Translational Immunology, Vol:10, ISSN:2050-0068, Pages:1-7

Mousa A, Al-Taiar A, Anstey NM, et al.Mousa A, Al-Taiar A, Anstey NM, Badaut C, Barber BE, Bassat Q, Challenger J, Cunnington AJ, Datta D, Drakeley C, Ghani AC, Gordeuk VR, Grigg MJ, Hugo P, John CC, Mayor A, Migot-Nabias F, Opoka RO, Pasvol G, Rees C, Reyburn H, Riley EM, Shah BN, Sitoe A, Sutherland CJ, Thuma PE, Unger SA, Viwami F, Walther M, Whitty CJM, William T, Okell LC close, 2020, The impact of delayed treatment of uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria on progression to severe malaria: a systematic review and a pooled multicentre individual-patient meta-analysis, PLOS Medicine, Vol:17, ISSN:1549-1277, Pages:1-28

Amulic B, Moxon C, Cunnington A, 2020, A more granular view of neutrophils in malaria, Parasitology Today, Vol:36, ISSN:0169-4758, Pages:501-503

Knackstedt S, Georgiadou A, Apel F, et al.Knackstedt S, Georgiadou A, Apel F, Abu-Abed U, Moxon C, Cunnington A, Raupach B, Cunningham D, Langhorne J, Kruger R, Barrera V, Harding S, Berg A, Patel S, Otterdal K, Mordmuller B, Schwarzer E, Brinkman V, Zychlinsky A, Amulic B close, 2019, Neutrophil extracellular traps drive inflammatory pathogenesis in malaria, Science Immunology, Vol:4, ISSN:2470-9468, Pages:1-17

Levin M, Cunnington AJ, Wilson C, et al.Levin M, Cunnington AJ, Wilson C, Nadel S, Lang HJ, Ninis N, McCulloch M, Argent A, Buys H, Moxon CA, Best A, Nijman RG, Hoggart CJ, Levin M, Cunnington A, Wilson C, Nadel S, Lang H, Ninis N, McCulloch M, Argent A, Buys H, Moxon C, Best A, Nijman R, Hoggart C close, 2019, Effects of saline or albumin fluid bolus in resuscitation: evidence from re-analysis of the FEAST trial, Lancet Respiratory Medicine, Vol:7, ISSN:2213-2600, Pages:581-593

Georgiadou A, Lee HJ, Walther M, et al.Georgiadou A, Lee HJ, Walther M, van Beek A, Fitriani F, Wouters D, Kuijpers T, Nwakanma D, D'Alessandro U, Riley E, Otto T, Ghani A, Levin M, Coin L, Conway D, Bretscher M, Cunnington A close, 2019, Modelling pathogen load dynamics to elucidate mechanistic determinants of host-Plasmodium falciparum interactions, Nature Microbiology, Vol:4, ISSN:2058-5276, Pages:1592-1602

Lee HJ, Georgiadou A, Walther M, et al.Lee HJ, Georgiadou A, Walther M, Nwakanma D, Stewart L, Levin M, Otto T, Conway D, Coin L, Cunnington A close, 2018, Integrated pathogen load and dual transcriptome analysis of systemic host-pathogen interactions in severe malaria, Science Translational Medicine, Vol:10, ISSN:1946-6234, Pages:1-17

Lee HJ, Georgiadou A, Otto T, et al.Lee HJ, Georgiadou A, Otto T, Levin M, Coin L, Conway D, Cunnington A close, 2018, Transcriptomic studies in malaria – a paradigm for investigation of systemic host-pathogen interactions, Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, Vol:82, ISSN:1092-2172

Evans C, Orf K, Horvath E, et al.Evans C, Orf K, Horvath E, Levin M, Chakravorty S, De La Fuente J, Cunnington A close, 2015, Impairment of neutrophil oxidative burst in children with sickle cell disease is associated with heme oxygenase-1, Haematologica - the Hematology Journal, Vol:100, ISSN:0390-6078, Pages:1508-1516

Cunnington AJ, Riley EM, Walther M, 2013, Stuck in a rut? Reconsidering the role of parasite sequestration in severe malaria syndromes, Trends in Parasitology, Vol:29, ISSN:1471-4922, Pages:585-592

Cunnington AJ, Walther M, Riley EM, 2013, Piecing Together the Puzzle of Severe Malaria, Science Translational Medicine, Vol:5, ISSN:1946-6234

Cunnington AJ, Njie M, Correa S, et al.Cunnington AJ, Njie M, Correa S, Takem EN, Riley EM, Walther M close, 2012, Prolonged Neutrophil Dysfunction after <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> Malaria Is Related to Hemolysis and Heme Oxygenase-1 Induction, Journal of Immunology, Vol:189, ISSN:0022-1767, Pages:5336-5346

Cunnington AJ, de Souza JB, Walther M, et al.Cunnington AJ, de Souza JB, Walther M, Riley EM close, 2012, Malaria impairs resistance to <i>Salmonella</i> through heme- and heme oxygenase-dependent dysfunctional granulocyte mobilization, Nature Medicine, Vol:18, ISSN:1078-8956, Pages:120-127

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