Estee Torok

Dr. Estee Torok serves as an Affiliated Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Cambridge and an Honorary Consultant in Infectious Diseases & Microbiology at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. She concurrently leads the malaria genomic surveillance portfolio as Senior Program Officer for Malaria/Global Health at the Gates Foundation. With 30 years of clinical research experience, her expertise spans malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, viral hepatitis, antimicrobial resistance, and COVID-19, with specialized focus on microbial genomics and molecular epidemiology.

Her research centers on pathogen evolution, genomic surveillance, and infectious disease dynamics, integrating genomic, epidemiological, and clinical data to address antimicrobial resistance mechanisms and viral outbreak responses. Recent work emphasizes malaria molecular surveillance in Africa, SARS-CoV-2 evolution in chronic infections, and bacterial genomics for resistance prediction, with strong emphasis on global health applications and public health intervention strategies.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals dominant themes in pathogen genomics, particularly SARS-CoV-2 variant tracking and malaria surveillance. She has pioneered bioinformatics tools like BaGPipe for bacterial GWAS and led large-scale studies on viral transmission dynamics, vaccine responses, and antimicrobial resistance prediction using whole-genome sequencing, directly informing pandemic responses and malaria control programs worldwide.

Dr. Torok actively contributes to academic education through postgraduate courses at the University of Cambridge and Wellcome Sanger Institute in clinical medicine, microbiology, and genomics. She maintains strong international collaborations across six continents and is a vocal advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in global health research and practice.