Sharon Peacock

Dr. Sharon Peacock is an academic clinical microbiologist at the University of Cambridge and the Sanger Institute. She is among the world's leaders in the application of WGS to clinical microbiology and epidemiology, and was named Director of the National Infection Service within Public Health England. In this role, Dr. Peacock oversees all the microbiology laboratories of PHE across England.

She was previously Professor of Clinical Microbiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (2016-2019,) University of Cambridge (2009-2015), and head of bacterial diseases research at the Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme in Bangkok (2003-2009). Following medical training in Southampton, she undertook postgraduate training in general medicine in London, Brighton and Oxford (MRCP), followed by specialist training in clinical microbiology (MSc, FRCPath) and tropical diseases (DTM&H). Her PhD (Oxford and Trinity College, Dublin) was supported by a Wellcome Trust Research Training Fellowship in Clinical Microbiology, which was followed by a Wellcome Trust Career Development Award in Clinical Tropical Medicine. Her research group focus on pathogen sequencing in relation to diagnostic and public health microbiology, antimicrobial resistance, and pathogen biology. Sharon is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and the American Academy of Microbiology, an elected Member of EMBO, and was awarded a CBE for services to medical microbiology in 2015.