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History of LSTM

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    The first institution in the world dedicated to research and teaching in tropical medicine, LSTM has a rich history of achievement in the advancement of tropical medicine and global health.

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    During the late 19th century Liverpool became one of the most important ports in Great Britain. A lack of sanitation and shipping controls led to regular outbreaks of diseases in the city and often entire crews of ships would be suffering from unknown infections.

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    Sir Alfred Lewis Jones, a prominent Liverpool ship owner, together with fellow business men and health pioneers, founded the Liverpool School of Tropical Diseases (later to be renamed into Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine) in 1898 with an annual donation of £350 for 3 years.

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    LSTM undertook 34 expeditions between 1899 and the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. Here, John Everett Dutton is shown during an expedition to The Gambia 1902-3. He was responsible for the first demonstration of sleeping sickness trypanosomes in human blood.

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    One of LSTM’s first lecturers was Dr Ronald Ross, shown left in this impression of LSTM's first laboratory. He became the first British winner of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1902 for demonstrating the method by which mosquitoes transmit malaria to humans.

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    LSTM’s co-founder and Liverpool merchant John Holt introduces the Mary Kingsley medal in 1903. The medal, named after writer, traveller and advocate for the rights of people living in Africa, Mary Kingsley, is awarded for outstanding contributions in the field of tropical medicine. Click here to see recipients of the Mary Kingsley Medal.

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    Tropical Veterinary Medicine became an established practice at LSTM with the establishment of a laboratory at Croft Lodge, Runcorn (near Liverpool) in 1903. Director Wolferstan Thomas developed the first effective treatment for sleeping sickness.

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    LSTM played a significant role during the First World War, providing a short training course for the Royal Medical Corps and treating soldiers falling ill with diseases such as malaria. During this period LSTM’s new building was used as a temporary hospital, delaying full occupation until 1920.

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    Designed by Scottish artist Herbert McNair in 1905, the exact meaning of LSTM’s original crest remains unclear. It has been suggested that the boat represents journeys to tropical destinations, with the eye in the sail referring to the Egyptian falcon god Horus, who was connected with healing and protection from evil.

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    In 1921 LSTM opens a research laboratory in Sierra Leone. Here it was demonstrated that a species of black fly is responsible for the transmission to humans of the filarial worm which causes river blindness.

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    Upon becoming Dean in 1946, Professor Brian Maegraith declared ‘Our impact on the tropics should be in the tropics!’ Maegraith went on to redefine tropical medicine in the 20th century, at LSTM, amongst national governments as well as international agencies.

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    In 1958 LSTM expands its trainings based in tropical countries. Herbert Gilles becomes LSTM’s first ‘Lecturer-at-Large’, seconded to the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He also established the first tropical medicine institute in Ghana.

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    LSTM takes responsibility for the medical boards of former Far Eastern Prisoners of War (ex-FEPOW) in 1967 and begins long-term studies on the health of ex-FEPOW which continues today, alongside an education project.

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    The Venom Research Unit is established at LSTM in 1973. Re-named the Alistair Reid Venom Research Unit in 1983 it continues to develop new anti-venoms for the treatment of snake bite.

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    The Historical Collection at LSTM's Donald Mason Library holds a variety of rare volumes from the nineteenth century onwards. Many written by LSTM’s own pioneers and alumni, it is a valuable resource for LSTM’s staff and 500 plus students, studying on over 50 education and training programmes.

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    LSTM’s Travel Clinic opened in 1946 and expanded to become Well Travelled Clinics (WTC) in 2008. WTC has featured in two television documentaries and works in conjunction with the Royal Liverpool & Broadgreen University Hospital Trust.

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    In 1991 HRH The Princess Royal succeeds her father, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, as the Patron of LSTM, taking a great deal of interest in the work based in Liverpool and overseas.

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    The Malawi-Liverpool Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme (MLW), a partnership between the University of Malawi, the University of Liverpool and LSTM, started in 1995 and is funded by the Wellcome Trust. MLW conducts biomedical research and also provides research training for clinical and laboratory scientists from Malawi and worldwide.

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    LSTM creates the Lymphatic Filariasis Support Centre in 2000. Later to become part of the Centre for Neglected Tropical Diseases. Huge advances have been made towards the elimination of LF in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.

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    Professor Janet Hemingway is appointed Director in 2000. A new organisational structure and strategic plan soon follow, marking the beginning of a period of expansion. Professor Hemingway has since become a Fellow of The Royal Society (2011), was inducted into the American National Academy of Sciences (2011) and awarded the CBE for services to the Control of Tropical Disease Vectors (2012).

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    In 2004 LSTM celebrated the centenary of the Diploma in Tropical Medicine. The original course in 1904 started with 18 students; nowadays it attracts approximately 180 students annually.

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    LSTM scientists develop a detox chip in 2004, aiding the identification of genes responsible for insecticide resistance in different populations of anopheline mosquitoes.

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    A major scientific breakthrough in 2005 shows that a course of antibiotic, targeting the Wolbachia bacterial symbionts of filarial parasites, cures patients with elephantiasis.

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    LSTM creates a new logo in 2006 to replace the emblem created in the late nineteenth century. Variations on the brand have now been developed for LSTM’s subsidiaries.

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    The Centre for Tropical and Infectious Diseases (CTID) is opened in 2007 by HRH The Princess Royal, to expand LSTM's Liverpool-based facilities. The opening marks a new period of growth and expansion for LSTM.

    Neglected Diseases