ITM moments that shaped 2025

In a first-of-its-kind study, we revealed that daily fluctuations in temperature and humidity significantly alter the biology and immunity of the major malaria mosquito, Anopheles stephensi. This knowledge can help us predict how mosquitoes, and the diseases they transmit, will respond to climate change. The study was published in Global Change Biology.

Research conducted by INRB and ITM has revealed that the Clade Ib variant of the mpox virus, known to spread through skin-to-skin and sexual contact, can also be transmitted from mother to unborn child via the placenta. This has important consequences, as young women are very often infected, increasing the risk of infection during pregnancy. The findings were published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

For the fourth consecutive year, we continued our tiger mosquito monitoring efforts, combining citizen reports with targeted field inspections. By late summer, the presence of the tiger mosquito had already been confirmed in seven municipalities since May. In three of these, the species was found to have survived the previous winter, indicating that it may be establishing itself more permanently.

How does where you live shape your health outcomes and well-being? Dr Peter Macharia explores this crucial question through the use of geospatial data, revealing how location and space affect the spread and causes of diseases and other health issues.

Together with partners in Palestine, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Australia, we assessed the availability of essential medicines in Gaza and provided concrete evidence of medicine scarcities. This study was published in The Lancet.

Testimonies from people recently diagnosed with HIV show that a lack of knowledge, persistent stigma, and inequality remain major barriers to accessing HIV prevention methods, particularly PrEP. Based on these insights, we formulated eight recommendations to help make prevention more accessible to all.

The EDCTP-funded StrogHAT project aims to generate the first evidence needed to support the integration of the highly promising drug acoziborole into national sleeping sickness control programmes.

We secured a 17.5 million dollar grant from the Gates Foundation to support the ITM-led GAMBIT project, which aims to intensify efforts to eliminate sleeping sickness in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

We launched the first module of the CORAL training programme, 'Strengthening Capacity for Operational Research on AMR and Leishmaniasis: From Protocol to Publication'. This hands-on course guides early-career researchers in Ethiopia from research idea to publication.

As the EDCTP-funded SIMBLE project comes to a close, we co-organised a stakeholder meeting with CNHU-PPC in Cotonou, Benin, focused on the local production of biomedical products for clinical bacteriology in resource-limited settings. National and international stakeholders were present, including the Ministry of Health of Benin and the Belgian Embassy.

We demonstrated that even very low, legally approved doses of antibiotics, which were previously assumed to be safe, can trigger resistance in bacteria in the human gut. Current food safety regulations do not sufficiently take this risk into account. The study was published in Scientific Reports.

During the Health Technology Showcase at our 65th ITM Colloquium, researchers demonstrated how innovation can strengthen the global fight against infectious diseases. Three ITM innovations were presented:

• Collect2Know: A patented self-blood collection device for affordable diagnostics and surveillance in low-resource settings

• A universal blood culture system for resource-constrained healthcare facilities

• Lung Flute ECO: A simple breathing aid that supports faster tuberculosis detection

How can artificial intelligence help tackle drug-resistant tuberculosis? Oren Tzfadia, senior researcher in Computational Biology at ITM, uses algorithms and big data to uncover how genes function and to drive new discoveries. "AI gives scientists superpowers — but also super responsibilities," he states.

Liselotte Hardy, biomedical scientist and head of the Unit of Tropical Bacteriology at ITM, and Faridath Massou, clinical biologist and PhD candidate, explore how local and social innovation can strengthen healthcare systems. From small laboratory improvements to locally produced medical materials, they believe that innovation does not always require high-tech solutions. "Innovation can also simply mean doing things differently," they say.

Professor of Virus Ecology

Professor of Experimental Parasitology

Professor of Helminthology

Professor of Tuberculosis

2025 Prize of the Flemish Scientific Foundation for Biomedical Sciences

2026 ASM Scherago-Rubin Award for Clinical Microbiology

Elected Chair of the American Committee of Medical Entomology (ACME)

2025 European Diagnostic Virology Award

Grant at the Award Ceremony for the 2023-2024 Laureates of the Funds for Biomedical Research (KBS)​