David Hurst Molyneux is a British parasitologist who served as the Director of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, where, as of 2018, he is an emeritus professor. He previously held the Chair of Biological Sciences at the University of Salford, where he also served as Dean of the Faculty of Science. His research and advocacy have focused on what are now known as neglected tropical diseases, and Michael Barrett credits him as among the earliest advocates of the campaign to focus international attention on this group of diseases in the early-to-mid 2000s.
Biography
Molyneux was born in Northwich in Cheshire in 1943, and educated at Denstone College, Staffordshire. He attended Emmanuel College of the University of Cambridge, gaining a degree in zoology and a PhD in parasitology. He received a DSc from the University of Salford. His earliest position was as a lecturer in parasitology at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, interrupted by a stint at the Nigerian Institute of Trypanosomiasis Research ; his research focus was Leishmania. In 1975, he joined the World Health Organization, working on African trypanosomiasis in Burkina Faso. In 1977, he was appointed the Chair of Biological Sciences at the University of Salford, and subsequently Dean of the university's Faculty of Science; his research focus was onchocerciasis. In 1991, he returned to the LSTM as its Director, a position he held until 2000. His work there focused on filariasis. In 1997, he established what later became the WHO Global Alliance for the Elimination of Filariasis, then funded by the Department for International Development and GlaxoSmithKline, who provided the antiparasiticalbendazole. He served as the Alliance's executive secretary and directed the Lymphatic Filariasis Support Centre at LSTM. He also held a professorship in tropical health sciences at the University of Liverpool. He performed various part-time roles at LSTM until September 2018, when he retired from the institute. He has been the editor-in-chief of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene's journal, International Health, since 2018. In 2010, he edited a series of articles on neglected tropical diseases for The Lancet. Molyneux is married to Anita; they have two children. As of 2020, he lives in Kingsley in Cheshire.
