astronomy

Guy Thwaites

Guy Thwaites is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Guy Thwaites rather than just read about it. In short: Guy Edward Thwaites (born 19 January 1971) is a British professor of infectious diseases at the University of Oxford. He was director of the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam from October 2013 to January 2026.

Key takeaways

Guy Thwaites belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Guy Thwaites to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Guy Thwaites from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Guy Edward Thwaites (born 19 January 1971) is a British professor of infectious diseases at the University of Oxford. He was director of the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam from October 2013 to January 2026. His research focus is on severe bacterial infections, including meningitis and Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection, and tuberculosis. He is a former first-class cricketer.

Early life and education Guy Thwaites was born in Brighton in January 1971, to cricketer and physician Ian Thwaites. He was educated at Eastbourne College, before going up to Girton College, Cambridge. There he completed his pre-clinical years before doing a year in art history. While studying at Cambridge, Thwaites played first-class cricket for Cambridge University Cricket Club in 1991 and 1992. Subsequently, he gained admission to study medicine at the United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals, from where he graduated. While a student, with a friend doing a history PhD, he came across the story of sudor anglicus, the mysterious English sweating sickness of the 15th and 16th centuries. In 1998, five years after the hantavirus outbreak in the US made headlines, and then working at St Thomas' Hospital, he co-authored a paper hypothesising that the mysterious medieval illness was very similar to that in the US and could have been hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. After discovering the grave of Henry Brandon, who he believed had been affected by the illness, he did not propose plans to exhume the body for DNA analysis.

Career Thwaites trained in infectious diseases and microbiology at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals, the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, and the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, London. In Vietnam he was a Wellcome Trust Clinician Scientist Fellow and mentored by Nicholas White and Jeremy Farrar. After more than four years there he returned to London, and two years later joined the MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection at Imperial College, where he worked on the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis. He was appointed honorary consultant in infectious disease at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals and Reader in Infectious Diseases at King’s College London from 2011 to 2013. In 2013 Thwaites returned to Vietnam as director of the OUCRU, replacing Farrar. He was appointed professor of infectious diseases at the University of Oxford in 2014. His research focuses on life-threatening bacterial infections, including meningitis and Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection, and tuberculosis.. He is an authority on the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculous meningitis. In January 2026 he stepped down as OUCRU director and returned to the United Kingdom, taking a position as Professor of Infectious Disease in the Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, and Honorary Infectious Diseases consultant in Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Honours In 2018 he was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in the UK. He holds honorary professorship at the MRC Clinical Trial Units at University College London. In 2021 he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to public health. In 2023 he received the Commemorative Medal “For the People’s Health” from Vietnam’s Ministry of Health, and in 2025 he received a Certificate of Merit from the Chair of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, recognising contributions to health in Vietnam. In 2026, he was awarded the Vietnam Prime Minister’s Certificate of Merit for contributions to healthcare in Vietnam

Selected publications Thwaites, Guy; Taviner, Mark; Gant, Vanya (20 February 1997). "The English Sweating Sickness, 1485 to 1551". New England Journal of Medicine. 336 (8): 580–582. doi:10.1056/NEJM199702203360812. ISSN 0028-4793. PMID 9023099. Donovan, Joseph; Bang, Nguyen Duy; Imran, Diana; Nghia, Ho Dang Trung; Burhan, Erlina; Huong, Do Thi Thu; Hiep, Nguyen Thi Thanh; Ngoc, Le Hoang Bao; Thanh, Do Van; Thanh, Nguyen Thi; Wardhani, Anis Luthfia S.; Maharani, Kiki; Gasmara, Candra P.; Hanh, Nguyen Hoang H.; Oanh, Pham Kim N.; Estiasari, Ratna; Thu, Duong Duc Anh; Kusumaningrum, Anis; Dung, Luong Thi; Giang, Doan Chi; Ha, Do Thi Minh; Lan, Nguyen Huu; Chau, Nguyen Van Vinh; Nguyet, Nguyen Thi Minh; Geskus, Ronald B.; Thuong, Nguyen Thi Thuong; Kestelyn, Evelyne; Hamers, Rogier L.; Phu, Nguyen Hoan; Thwaites, Guy E.; et al. (ACT HIV Investigators) (12 October 2023). "Adjunctive Dexamethasone for Tuberculous Meningitis in HIV-Positive Adults". New England Journal of Medicine. 389 (15): 1357–1367. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2216218. hdl:2066/301541. PMID 37819954. Thwaites, Guy; Nahid, Payam; Szubert, A.; Nsutebu, E.; Tilley, R.; Greig, J.; Wyllie, S. A.; Wilson, P.; Auckland, C.; Cairns, J.; Ward, D.; Lal, P.; Guleri, A.; Jenkins, N.; Sutton, J.; Wiselka, M.; Armando, G. R.; Graham, C.; Chadwick, P. R.; Barlow, G.; Gordon, N. C.; Young, B.; Meisner, S.; McWhinney, P.; Price, D. A.; Harvey, D.; Nayar, D.; Jeyaratnam, D.; Planche, T.; Minton, J.; Hudson, F.; Hopkins, S.; Williams, J.; Török, M. E. (5 March 2020). "Triumph and Tragedy of 21st Century Tuberculosis Drug Development". New England Journal of Medicine. 382 (10): 959–960. doi:10.1056/NEJMe2000860. PMID 32130819. Heemskerk, Annemieke D.; Bang, Nguyen Duy; Mai, Nguyen T.; Chau, Tran T.; Phu, Nguyen H. (14 January 2016). "Intensified Antituberculosis Therapy in Adults with Tuberculous Meningitis". New England Journal of Medicine. 374 (2): 124–134. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1507062. PMID 26760084. Thwaites, G. E.; Nguyen, D. B.; Nguyen, H. D.; Hoang, T. Q.; Do, T. T.; Nguyen, T. C.; Nguyen, Q. H.; Nguyen, T. T.; Nguyen, N. H.; Nguyen, T. N.; Nguyen, N. L.; Nguyen, H. D.; Vu, N. T.; Cao, H. H.; Tran, T. H.; Pham, P. M.; Nguyen, T. D.; Stepniewska, K.; White, N. J.; Tran, T. H.; Farrar, J. J. (21 October 2004). "Dexamethasone for the treatment of tuberculous meningitis in adolescents and adults". New England Journal of Medicine. 351 (17): 1741–1751. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa040573.

References

External links Guy Thwaites at Cricinfo Thwaites in Google Scholar

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Guy Thwaites

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Guy Thwaites claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Guy Thwaites before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Guy Thwaites ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Guy Thwaites

In research: Guy Thwaites appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Guy Thwaites in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Guy Thwaites is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1971 births, Academics of the University of Oxford, Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Guy Thwaites outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Guy Thwaites in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Guy Thwaites means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Guy Thwaites out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Guy Thwaites in simple terms?

Why does Guy Thwaites matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Guy Thwaites?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Guy Thwaites.