Rate My Professor Tom Peacock

In 2023, Peacock established and leads the Zoonotic Influenza Viruses research group as an Institute Fellow at the Pirbright Institute, while retaining his honorary lectureship at Imperial College London. His research specializes in the adaptation mechanisms of influenza viruses across wildlife, livestock, and human hosts, integrating expertise in glycobiology, molecular biology, and virology. He plays influential roles on international and national panels, including the World Health Organization Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution, the UK Health Security Agency Variant Technical Group, and the PANGO lineage designation committee. Notable publications include 'SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 Delta variant replication and immune evasion' (Nature, 2021), 'Mutations that adapt SARS-CoV-2 to mink or ferret airway epithelium impair its airborne transmission in ferrets' (Cell Reports, 2022), 'Pasteurisation temperatures effectively inactivate influenza A viruses in milk' (Nature Communications, 2025), and 'The haemagglutinin gene of bovine-origin H5N1 influenza viruses currently retains receptor-binding and pH-fusion characteristics of avian host phenotype' (Emerging Microbes & Infections, 2025). His contributions have advanced surveillance and risk assessment for zoonotic influenza threats.