- General welcome
We are delighted to welcome you to LSHTM and to the MSc Medical Parasitology and Entomology.
During the year you will make a lot of new friends, not just with other MSc students but also PhD students and staff. We are a friendly and interactive bunch of people who look forward to supporting you in this next phase of your academic career. We hope to impart to you our enthusiasm and excitement in trying to understand the intricate biology of human parasites and their vectors, the fascinating strategies that pathogens use to subvert us as their hosts and the real-life implementation of parasitology, such as in diagnostics, drug and vaccine design, epidemiology and vector management, which has had such a dramatic effect on global public health.
We hope that you enjoy your MSc, and all that LSHTM (and London) has to offer. Please take full advantage of the opportunity to interact with our research staff, who have varied backgrounds in public health, and the option to undertake a research project in your particular interest (from teasing apart the biology of parasites in a molecular laboratory to field projects incriminating vectors in an endemic country; usually involving one of our many collaborating centres based overseas). You will also find the residential field course, held between Terms 2 and 3, to be one of the highlights of the programme.
LSHTM is multi-cultural hub of academic excellence to develop your career for the next 12 months and this Programme will provide a sound basis for your future plans in research or infectious disease control.
- Welcome Week
The first week is a relaxed introduction to studying at LSHTM and will involve various ‘nuts and bolts’ tasks such as registration, setting up a LSHTM email account, securing your accommodation and other personal matters. This will include introductory sessions to learn more about the year ahead and opportunities to meet the Programme Director and other teaching staff. Specifically, the teaching structure of Term 1 will be explained and you will be allocated a personal tutor to guide and support your academic life at the School. You will also attend some sessions that will introduce you to essential skills needed on the programme, such as computing and database searching and get to know the Moodle, LSHTM's virtual learning environment, where almost all teaching materials will be held. If you require disability support or special assessment arrangements you will have the opportunity to book an appointment with a student advisor from student services to put this in place.
- Pentacells
When you arrive at LSHTM, your Programme Director will invite you to participate in a Pentacell, an activity that strengthens the School community, increases our wellbeing and forwards our goal of improving global health. The idea is deceptively simple – five students meet weekly for five weeks and listen to each other’s ideas and perspectives. It’s not compulsory but is strongly recommended by our School's Director, Liam Smeeth, Programme Directors, Student Support Services and former students.
Feedback from previous students:
“It was nice to be able to connect with people on my programme that I wouldn't necessarily have spoken to otherwise and it was a good way to make friends at the beginning.”
“Our Pentacell group chose not always to follow the exact guidelines for each session, and instead focused more on getting to know members of our programme better. I enjoyed the Pentacell experience we had, as it helped develop interpersonal relationships with those on my programme.”
“It gave me an opportunity to meet people on my programme. It also helped me develop interpersonal skills.”
“Very pleasant experience especially for me as an international student who moved to the UK for the 1st time.”
- Term 1
Term 1 is mainly devoted to the MSc core module ‘Parasitology and Entomology’. This module has been split into:
- an introductory week 1
- a five-week block of protozoology
- a reading week
- a four-week block of helminthology
This part of the programme aims to equip you with a balanced knowledge of important human parasites and their arthropod vectors before progressing to more advanced pathogen- and/or vector-specific studies in Terms 2 and 3.
The core timetable is modified each year, based on comments and suggestions from previous MSc student evaluations, and will include many lecturers from colleges and institutes external to LSHTM. This will give you access to expertise in a wide range of parasitology topics and also an opportunity to talk personally to experts about your own areas of interest. There will also be tutorial sessions with your personal tutor.
The general structure of the week is to receive parasite-specific lectures and laboratory practicals on Tuesdays and Thursday, which are shared with the MSc Tropical Medicine and International Health and the Professional Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene students, and more specialist parasite and vector lectures and practicals on Mondays and Wednesdays. Fridays are devoted to further skills in statistics and research design, some of which may be delivered online. There are also private study sessions throughout each week to give you time to assimilate the material covered. You will note that the timetable is fairly full so you will need to give your full attention to the MSc.
- Preparing for the Programme
Don’t worry if you have limited prior knowledge of parasites or disease vectors as Term 1 is designed to give you a comprehensive introduction by combining lectures with associated lab practicals to reinforce your learning. Although we move at a brisk pace, we do start at the beginning and guide you through the major human parasites and vectors week by week - introducing their biology, how to identify them and their various stages, their pathogenesis and their epidemiology, treatment and control.
It may be useful if you look through one of the text books listed below but there is no essential requirement for this. It might be worthwhile looking through recent issues of the monthly journal Trends in Parasitology, which provides reviews on current topics of interest in vector control or parasitology. Note that we do not recommend an individual book as each has its strengths and weaknesses and it would be wrong to suggest that the MSc relies on a particular source. Neither do we insist you buy any book for the programme. You will find all the recommended books and journals in our well-equipped library.
Parasitology
Peters W & Pasvol G (2007) Colour Atlas of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology. 6th edition. London, Mosby. [Mostly colour pictures: expensive but very nice, for reference if not to buy]
Cox, F.E.G., Kreier, J.P., Wakelin, D (eds) Topley and Wilson’s Microbiology and Microbial Infections, Tenth Edition Vol. 5 Parasitology (2007) Wiley Group [A very good source of references]
Cheesebrough, M. (2006) District Laboratory Practice in Tropical Countries. Cambridge University Press. [This book is designed to help those working in district laboratories in developing countries. It has a good large section on parasite diagnosis. It is available at low cost]
Farrar, J., Hotez, P., Junghanss, T., Kang, G., Lalloo, D., and White, N.J. (2014) Manson’s Tropical Diseases. 23rdedition. Saunders, London.
Despommier, D.D., Gwadz, R.G., Hotez, P., Knirsch, C. (2005) Parasitic Diseases. Apple Trees Productions, LLC, Pub., New York. 5th edition. Second Printing.
Zeibig, E. (2012) Clinical Parasitology: A Practical Approach. 2nd edition. Saunders. ISBN-10: 1416060448 ISBN-13: 978-1416060444
Beeching, N. & Gill, G. (2014). Lecture Notes: Tropical Medicine. 7th edition. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN-10: 0470658533 ISBN-13: 978-0470658536
Entomology
Service, M.W. (2012) Medical Entomology for Students. 5th edition. Cambridge University Press; ISBN 9781107668188 [A concise small paperback book providing basic information on the recognition, biology, medical importance and control of arthropods affecting human health. This is the cheapest option if you want to buy one textbook on medical entomology]
Lane, R.P. & Crosskey, R.W. (1993) Medical Insects and Arachnids. Chapman & Hall, London. [This expensive hardback book is required reading for those wishing to specialise in medical entomology, as it provides an excellent guide to the identification of the various arthropod groups. As a multi-author volume, it provides authoritative information on each taxonomic group, but is somewhat limited in its coverage of public health significance or control]
Rozendall, J.A. (1997) Vector Control. Methods for use by individuals and communities. WHO. [This cheap paperback is a really excellent review of vector control methods. It is designed to be practical, rather than theoretical, and is full of helpful illustrations. If you are ever responsible to vector control in the field, you will want this book]
Lehane, M.J. (2005). The Biology of Blood-sucking in Insects. 2nd Edition. Cambridge University Press; ISBN 0521836085
Roberts, L.S. & Janovy, J. (2009) Gerald D Schmidt & Larry S Roberts’ Foundations of Parasitology. 8th edition. McGraw Hill Higher Education.
You will not need any other materials.
In terms of laboratory classes - you will be provided with a parasite lab guide and a medical entomology lab guide. Lab coats are provided by the appropriate laboratory.
- Module and summer project choices
Everyone taking the MSc does the Parasitology and Entomology core module and the Analysis and Design of Research Studies module in Term 1 and the Field Trip module between Terms 2 and 3.
In Terms 2 and 3 we offer a wide range of modules for you to choose from so that you can tailor the MSc to your interests. The full list of recommended modules can be found in the programme specification.
We’ll discuss more during Welcome Week, but do spend some time before arrival thinking about what you want to get out of the MSc - skills you want to develop; knowledge you want to obtain; what you might want to do after the MSc. With all these in mind, do already start considering which of the optional modules you might want to take, checking the module specifications for full details.
As you will have gathered from reading about the MSc, the summer project carries the most credits and is the highlight of the Programme. This is your opportunity to practice those skills you have gained to undertake a piece of research that interests you. Decisions about modules are likely to be made at around mid-November and the project needs to be chosen by the start of February. The process of project selection will be explained by the Programme Director in greater detail closer to the time.
- Timetable and Programme materials
You will receive your Term 1 module 3122 Parasitology & Entomology timetable during Welcome Week and other materials at the start or shortly before each module. Rest assured that this is a full-time programme and there will not be much time off during the day and what you have is expected to be spent in private study.
Copies of lecture slides and all other learning materials will be provided via a dedicated MSc Moodle folder. During the term, these materials from each speaker usually go online a week before the lecture slot in your timetable so please don’t expect to see a lot of material for specific lectures too many weeks in advance. We try to update things as close to the time of presentation as possible.
- Information for split-study students
Students can take the programme by split study over two years. Initially you will be doing the whole of the Term 1 core module so your timetable will be the same as everyone else, then take a one-year break and undertake the remainder of the programme in Year 2. The split can occur at any module or slot end-point between the end of Term 1’s assessment at the beginning of January and the end of formal teaching in May, by prior arrangement with the Programme Director. The summer project must normally be undertaken in Year 2.
Page last updated September 2024