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John Russell Stothard (Russ Stothard)
John Russell Stothard, BSc, MSc, DIC, PhD, FRGS, FLS (“Russ Stothard”) (born 1970), is a British scientist, Professor of Parasitology at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), and well known for his teaching and research into schistosomiasis and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). He was the recipient of the Bicentenary Medal of the Linnean Society of London in 2004, and the C.A. Wright Memorial Medal of the British Society for Parasitology in 2019. He has previously held positions at London’s Natural History Museum, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) , and at Imperial College London between 1992 and 2010.

Early life and education
Stothard grew up on a livestock farm in coastal Northumberland in the north of England. Upon leaving college, he joined University of Leeds to study BSc. Zoology & Microbiology between 1988 – 1991, before graduating and moving to join University of York in 1991 to complete a MSc in 'Biological Computation'. Between 1992 – 1995, he undertook PhD studies focused on the epidemiology of schistosomiasis in sub-Saharan Africa, jointly hosted at Imperial College London and Natural History Museum, London under the supervision of Professor David Rollinson.

Research and teaching career
Stothard’s research and teaching is largely focused upon medical parasitology, with particular emphasis on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), most notably the epidemiology and control schistosomiasis.

With over 237 publications on SCOPUS (>6300 citations, h-index 41, average citation per item 26.4 ; ORCHID: 0000-0002-9370-3420), and with 6 students supervised to PhD completion, over 50 MSc and 35 BSc student projects supervised, and many thousands of students taught and examined across BSc, MSc and professional clinical diplomas, Stothard’s work seeks to advance understanding of key parasites and intermediate hosts/vectors thereof, to better tailor future interventions in control and elimination of parasitic disease in not only humans, but to other animals including livestock, companion animals and wildlife.

Stothard’s research relevance has prompted invites to present, Chair and contribute to several World Health Organisation (WHO) expert committees including 'Guideline Review at Head Office/African Regional Office (Schistosomiasis)' ; 'Roadmap for control of schistosomiasis: Schistosomiasis: progress report 2001–2011, strategic plan 2012–2020' ; and  'Eliminating soil-transmitted helminthiases as a public health problem in children Progress report 2001−2010 and strategic plan 2011−2020'.

Of note are Stothard’s Directorship of COUNTDOWN, a large DFID-UK funded interdisciplinary implementation research consortium (2014-2019), and his leadership on a Wellcome Trust -funded longitudinal cohort study of 'Schistosomiasis in Mothers and Infants ' (SIMI) project (2008-2013) , which featured on BBC2. In addition, Stothard's work as a founding member of the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (2002-2004), and involvement on the hybrid biology of schistosomiasis first beginning in Senegal a decade ago with EU_CONTRAST (2006-2010) are of relevance in use of point-of-care diagnostics, molecular approaches and inclusion of one health understanding of schistosomiasis control.

Awards and memberships
Stothard’s multidisciplinary studies on Zanzibar, provided groundwork for subsequent international efforts towards elimination efforts in urogenital schistosomiasis. This work gained him recognition and award of the Bicentenary Medal of the Linnean Society of London in 2004.

In April 2019, Stothard was again honoured with the 2019 C.A. Wright Memorial Medal of the British Society for Parasitology in recognition for outstanding contribution to parasitology over more than twenty years. Stothard is the Co-editor of two peer-reviewed scientific journals, ‘Advances in Parasitology’ and ‘Parasitology’ and a regular reviewer for a range of other peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Between, 2004 – 2010 he was elected as Honorary Scientific Secretary & Executive Board member at the Royal Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (RSTMH). Following completion of this appointment, he was then elected to Honorary General Secretary of British Society for Parasitology (BSP) between 2011 – 2016. He remains an ordinary member of both societies.

Publications and media
ORCHID: 0000-0002-9370-3420

Twitter: @StothardRuss

PumpHandle Blues Band
Russ is also a keen drummer and member of the Pumphandle Blues Band, a musical collective of predominantly scientists. Playing "for no special reason apart from having fun", to quote their webpage, the band have entertained at at events, parties, scientific conferences, weddings and festivals, and are commonly to be heard at their resident 'Pumphandle Bar' in the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.