Rate My Professor James Cotton

James Cotton's research focuses on the genetics and genomics of eukaryotic parasites, particularly those causing neglected tropical diseases. He builds genomic data resources to investigate parasite biology, population genetics, evolution, and epidemiology. His projects include Leishmania species in Ethiopia for cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis, Haemonchus contortus as a model for anthelmintic drug resistance, Schistosoma for genetic surveillance of resistance emergence, Onchocerca volvulus, and Guinea worm. Key publications encompass 'The genome of Onchocerca volvulus, agent of river blindness' (2016), 'Evolutionary genomics of epidemic visceral leishmaniasis in the Indian subcontinent' (2016), 'Global genome diversity of the Leishmania donovani complex' (2020), 'TRPtracker: a community database for monitoring praziquantel sensitivity at TRPMPZQ variants' (2026), and 'Analyses of emerging macrocyclic lactone resistance: speed and signature of ivermectin and moxidectin selection and evidence of a shared genetic locus' (2025). He leads grants including those from the Wellcome Trust on schistosomiasis treatment failure (2025-2030), Defra on anthelmintic resistance management (2025-2027), and BBSRC on resistance in sheep scab mite (2024-2027).