Rate My Professor Tom Peacock

Dr Thomas Peacock is an Honorary Lecturer in the Department of Infectious Disease within the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London. He earned his PhD in 2016 on avian influenza virus evolution and host adaptation through a joint program between the Pirbright Institute and Imperial College London, under the supervision of Professors Munir Iqbal and Wendy Barclay. Following his doctorate, Peacock completed a postdoctoral fellowship at University College London in Greg Towers' laboratory, focusing on HIV and innate immune sensing. In 2018, he joined Professor Wendy Barclay's group at Imperial College London as a Research Associate, where his work centered on cross-species transmission of influenza viruses and the emergence and adaptation of SARS-CoV-2 variants. As a key member of the UK G2P National Virology Consortium, he contributed to molecular virology studies during the COVID-19 pandemic and was seconded part-time to the UK Health Security Agency to advise on SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern.

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.