Postgraduate Fellows

Watipenge Nyasulu

 I obtained my bachelor’s degree in Medical Laboratory Sciences (Hons) from the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences in Malawi in 2019. After graduation, I worked at the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome clinical research programme looking at the role of neutrophils in exacerbating cerebral malaria prognosis in children. It was during this time that I witnessed first-hand the burden of Malaria on children’s health in Malawi. The project also piqued my interest in immunology, hence proceeded to study for a master’s degree in immunology at the University of Glasgow under the BEIT TRUST scholarship in 2022. I am currently enrolled at the University of Edinburgh for a PhD in Hosts, Pathogens and Global Health under the Wellcome Trust scholarship. My long-term goal is to conduct multidisciplinary biomedical research looking at interactions between the human immune system and disease-causing agents, and to explore how these interactions can be exploited for the development of new treatment and vaccine targets that will contribute to reducing the burden of diseases. 
Trisha Kerai

Through Trisha’s early experiences volunteering in local community clinics in Kenya, she quickly realized the most prominent, widespread burden on the health of the community around her was from infectious diseases. She is particularly interested in unravelling host-pathogen interactions, and exploiting these to develop affordable prevention and therapeutic regimens. To pursue these interests, she first did her bachelor’s degree in Applied Medical Sciences at UCL, specializing in respiratory infections. Her honors project focusing on characterizing novel vaccine candidates against pneumococcus was nominated for the Faculty of Medicine’s Dean’s Research Prize; she was also awarded a travel bursary to present this project at an annual European conference on the molecular biology of pneumococcus. Additionally, as part of the Wellcome Trust Integrative Cell Mechanisms Biomedical Vacation Scholarship programme, she investigated antifungal resistance mechanisms of Candida glabrata.

She then went on to do an MRes in Clinical Research on the translational medicine pathway at Imperial College London; where she worked on developing a novel, more accessible method of isolating monoclonal antibodies against infectious diseases to help treat immunocompromised patients. She is currently enrolled as a PhD student in the Wellcome Trust PhD program on Hosts, Pathogens and Global Health at the University of Edinburgh. In her first rotation project in Dr. Helen Alexander’s lab, she is currently studying the effects of secondary metabolites on collective antibiotic tolerance and developing mathematical models to predict these.

 

Ifeanyi Omah 

Ifeanyi's first-hand experience witnessing the devastating impact of pathogens on his community compelled him to develop a strong interest in infectious diseases, focusing on their epidemiology and the role of policy in combating their spread. He has pursued this passion throughout his academic journey, starting with his bachelor's degree in Parasitology and Entomology at Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Nigeria. He was awarded the prestigious University of Edinburgh Mastercard Foundation Scholarship for a master's program in Global Health Policy. Currently, Ifeanyi is enrolled as a PhD student in the Wellcome Trust 4-year PhD program in Hosts, Pathogens, and Global Health at the University of Edinburgh. Under the supervision of Andrew Rambaut, his research focuses on understanding the origins, evolution, and transmission dynamics of viral diseases. He hopes that his work will contribute to developing more effective strategies for combating the burden of infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to his academic pursuits, Ifeanyi's deep passion for advancing knowledge and improving global health outcomes led him to organise a TEDx University of Edinburgh event in 2022. This event served as a platform for staff members, students, and university alumni to showcase their work and share innovative ideas. This effort earned him the School of Biological Science award for external engagement and impact, as well as a place on the shortlist for the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine staff award for community engagement.
Kevin Kidambasi 

Kevin's research interests are in exploring host-pathogen interactions to better understand disease infection mechanisms and develop novel control and treatment strategies. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry (Molecular Biology) from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT, Kenya), and a Master of Science in Biochemistry from the same university. His master's thesis research involved the use of molecular diagnostics to investigate the prevalence and transmission of infectious diseases by blood-feeding camel-specific keds, (Hippobosca camelina) in northern Kenya. 

Driven by a profound passion for citizen science, community and public engagement formed an integral part of his work. During his MSc, he actively involved the community in data collection and regularly conducted community and public engagement (CPE) meetings to disseminate his research findings. CPE proved beneficial to his study as new research topics arose from community engagement, and in turn, the livestock farmers became enlightened from the findings of his work that focused on livestock diseases, their transmission and control. Kevin's advocacy for citizen science underscores the importance of bridging the gap between scientists and the public, fostering collaborative environments where diverse perspectives can thrive.

Prior to joining the University of Edinburgh, he served as a research assistant at the Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics Unit at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), Kenya, in a project that sought to improve livestock and human health through the application of data science to advance the understanding the vector-borne zoonotic diseases. 

Kevin is currently a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh on the four-year PhD programme in Hosts, Pathogens, and Global Health. His research focuses on employing single-cell RNA transcriptomics and in vivo imaging to explore trypanosome infection dynamics, aiming to understand how these debilitating parasites interact with their host. He is supervised by Prof. Keith Matthews.

Lorraine Pfavayi

Lorraine Pfavayi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and a Master’s degree in Biotechnology  from the University of Zimbabwe. More recently, she completed a DPhil in Clinical Medicine from the University of Oxford. Her doctoral studies focused on the epidemiology, immunology and aetiology of fungal allergic diseases in areas co-endemic with parasitic infections. Through this research, she determined the incidence and prevalence of fungal diseases in the country, making a valuable contribution to the ongoing global discourse surrounding the burden of fungal diseases (https://gaffi.org/media/country-fungal-disease-burdens/). Lorraine’s background in biochemistry, biotechnology and clinical medicine has inspired her to champion patient-centric interventions that not only tackle the medical aspects but also consider the socio-economic and cultural contexts of afflicted communities. Currently, Lorraine is working as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Edinburgh. In this role, her research objectives revolve around the development of accessible and cost-effective point-of-care diagnostic tests, as well as the establishment of an integrated surveillance approach for Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in Zimbabwe.
Tuduetso Leka Monage (Botswana)

Tuduetso Leka Monagen obtained a BSc Medical sciences and Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from the University of Ghana Medical School in 2003 and 20o8 respectively. She also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Tuduetso has 10 years' experience in both clinical and public health medicine. She has served as a district medical officer, taking care of curative and preventive medicine needs of patients. She currently oversees the implementation of the Neglected Tropical Diseases program as well as Childhood Tuberculosis within the National TB Control Program in the Ministry of Health. Tuduetso is a Trainer in Tuberculosis Case Management. She has been involved in the following research projects; National Mapping of Neglected Tropical Diseases in Botswana, and Remapping of Lymphatic Filariasis in Chobe District, Botswana.
Kebabonye Gabaake (Botswana)

Kebabonye Gabaake qualified with an MPhil International Public Health from the University of Bergen in Norway in 2002. She also holds a Bachelor's degree in Nursing Education obtained from the University of Botswana in 1996. She is currently a senior Lecturer/researcher at the Institute of Development Management- Botswana in Public Health. She is a public health consultant for project within the country and the region. She documents experience providing technical guidance on public health programme development and implementation, Research, Quality improvement, curricula development and training. She has worked as a public health program manager and research consultant for several projects with the Government of Botswana, and development Agencies in Botswana. These include among others; revision and writing the HTC "Test All" guidelines in 2016, evaluated the Botswana RNMCAH program, conducting the national HIV/AIDS Stigma Index Survey, and evaluation of the national ARV program. Ms. Gabaake has co-authored papers on: Trends and determinants of survival for over 200 000 patients on Antiretro-viral treatment in the Botswana National Program: 2002–2013, and the Variation in attrition at sub-national level: review of the Botswana National HIV/AIDS Treatment (Masa) programme data (2002–2013) and the Impact of Health System Inputs on Health Outcome: A Multilevel Longitudinal Analysis of Botswana National Antiretroviral Program (2002-2013). Gabaake is enrolled in a PhD in Medical Sciences with the University of Botswana under the TIBA project. Her research is on 'Risk factors for schistosomiasis re-infection among School-aged children (9-12 years) of Batswana'.
Sedireng Mompati Ndolo (Botswana) Sedireng Mompati Ndolo obtained a Bachelor of Education Science from the University of Botswana in 2006. He also holds a Master of Education Science and Master of Science Chemistry completed in 2012 and 2015 respectively from the University of Botswana. Ndolo has 10 years' teaching experience in chemistry at tertiary institutions. His research area include exploring separation science mass spectrometry of ARVs for HIV/AIDS, and exploring of LC/MS of pharmaceuticals from characterization view. Mr Ndolo is currently working on small molecule biomarker identification and confirmation as diagnostic tools for Schistosomiasis detection using Mass Spectrometry techniques. He participated actively in the TIBA Rapid Impact project on ‘A Situational Analysis of Schistosomiasis among communities in the Okavango Delta’. He is involved in the East and Southern Africa Managers Association (E-SALAMA). He also had training with Botswana Bureau of Standards (BOBS): Understanding BOS ISO/IEC 17025:2005. Mr Ndolo has served as the subject specialist Programme Developer for Science with Botswana Open University (BOU) overseeing online support for science related subjects in content and research areas.
Felix Ansah (Ghana)

Felix Ansah is currently a first year PhD student at the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), University of Ghana, Legon. He earned his Bachelor Degree in Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Ghana in 2015. His undergraduate thesis which was supervised by Prof. Gordon Awandare focused on determining the prevalence of antimalarial drug resistance genotypes in Ghana. After completing his Bachelor of Science, Felix served a year as a Teaching and Research Assistance at the Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Ghana, Legon. In 2016, he enrolled in the Molecular Cell Biology of Infectious Diseases two-year MPhil programme at WACCBIP. Following his exceptional academic record in the first year, he was upgraded into the Molecular Cell Biology of Infectious Diseases four-year PhD programme. His current PhD project which is funded by TIBA focuses on the development of novel nucleic acid-based biosensor for malaria diagnosis. This is based on the premise that there are limitations in available point-of-care diagnostic tools, so he aims to develop a more reliable and robust biosensor for timely and accurate diagnosis of malaria.
Kennedy Mwai (Kenya) Kennedy Mwai is a bio-statistician and a PhD student working on statistical and mathematical models as applied to the identification of the immune correlates of protection against malaria. He obtained a Bachelor's degree from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Mathematics and Computer science with a specialization in Statistics. He holds an MSc in Biostatistics from the University of the Witwatersrand where he focused on Bayesian Spatial-Temporal models. During his PhD he aims to build dynamic reproducible web platforms that make complex data analysis easier, faster, and fun! His biostatistics areas of interest includes mixed modelling, machine learning, measurement error and Bayesian non-parametric inference.
Joseph Kagabo (Rwanda) Joseph Kagabo holds a Master of Science in Water Resources and Environmental Management from the University of Rwanda (formally National University of Rwanda) in collaboration with UNESCO-IHE, Institute for water Education, and the Netherland Government. Joseph is interested in the assessment of water contaminants and their relationship with waterborne diseases, neglected tropical diseases and their control measures. His PhD research is focused on Mapping and quantification of water contaminants and their link with infectious disease in Rwanda. He is focusing on different aspects including, but not limited to, water quality, water management and development, chemical, physical-chemical and bacteriological parameters of water and environmental auditing.
Ella Larissa Ndoli (Rwanda) Ella Larissa Ndoli holds an MSc in Microbiology from Jain University and is currently enrolled on a joint diploma between the University of Rwanda and Universite Catholique de Louvain focusing on understanding the biological and non-biological factors underlying the resurgence of malaria in Rwanda. She will particularly define immune profiles of malaria patients with distinct clinical manifestations and parasite molecular characteristics in the well-defined socio-economic environment with the ultimate goal of identifying possible gaps in the previous control methods. She hopes that the data generated will strengthen strategies meant to control the resurgence or/and give an insight on the way towards the elimination of malaria in Rwanda.
Chanelle Mulopo (South Africa) Chanelle Mulopo is a registered PhD student in the school of Public Health Medicine. She focuses on behavioral change interventions in communities within developing countries. Her area of interest is Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in rural settings, diffusion of innovations as well as nudging to bring about behavioral change. Currently her study focuses on WASH practices in Ingwavuma situated in rural Kwazulu-Natal, where she is currently investigating the determinants of WASH practices such as psycho-social and contextual factors that impact on WASH. Ms Mulopo is well vested in participatory research methodologies that view research subjects as co-constructors of knowledge. Ms. Mulopo has an honors degree in Psychology and a Master's degree in Health Promotion. She has experience in teaching the introduction to Psychology module as well as mentoring Psychology honors students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Chanelle Mulopo is a student member at the Water institute of Southern Africa as well as the International Water Association (IWA)-Young Water Professional organizations. She is currently one of three South Africans on the Danish-South African capacity building and Knowledge sharing programme which aims at providing collaboration and capacity building to young South African researchers in the water sector.
Colisile Mathonsi (South Africa) Colisile Mathonsi holds a master's degree in Medical Sciences, an honours degree in Medical Biochemistry and a degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. She is currently enrolled for a PhD in public health with the University of KwaZulu-Nata. Her research project utilizes an animal model (Sprague-Dawley rats) to describe the mechanisms by which schistosome infection cause cognitive and locomotive deficits. Colisile's research interests include implementation research and health systems strengthening in resource-poor settings particularly in areas of maternal health and early childhood development. In addition to her academic work, Colisile is also passionate about youth empowerment and over the years she has been involved with different organizations that focus on empowering, educating and mentoring high school learners, such as the Umkhumbane Schools Project, Driving to Success and Ikusaselihle.
Hlengiwe Sacolo (South Africa) Hlengiwe Sacolo is a public health care professional with background training in Community Health Nursing and Midwifery. She has major interests in maternal and child health. Hlengiwe is an applied researcher who draws from her experience in health systems research, program designing and evaluation to address real societal problems particularly in vulnerable communities. She holds a Master of Science degree in Public Health where she effectively utilized the structural equation modeling approach to study high risk sexual behaviors for HIV among in-school youth in Swaziland. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Public Health at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Her PhD research is on schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis treatment coverage and efficacy of praziquantel among preschool children aged 1-5 years in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Her studies will contribute towards the redefining of guidelines for schistosomiasis prevention and control among children in South Africa.
Tafadzwa Mindu (South Africa) Tafadzwa Mindu holds a Master's degree in Public Health obtained from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2018. His thesis for the Master's degree was entitled "Schistosomiasis knowledge uptake: A case study of MABISA research project in Ndumo area, uMkhanyakude, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa". He is currently part of the tibaSA driving the knowledge uptake component. Mr Mindu has registered for PhD in Public Health focusing on Schistosomiasis Knowledge Uptake; this will build on his Master's degree work.
Baeng Nelson Ntime (South Africa) Baeng Nelson Ntime graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a BSc (Hons) in Nutrition. His most recent position was as a Nutrition Officer at Botswana's Ministry of Agriculture. Baeng has previously held other roles as Team Leader and Research Assistant with UNICEF Botswana as well as Quality Control and Quality Assurance Intern at Bolux Group (a food production company). Baeng is passionate about nutrition sensitive programming and will thus be studying malnutrition in the context of Schistosomiasis endemicity. He is registered for a Master's degree in Public Health.
Azza Tag Eldin Bashir Babiker Elshafie (Sudan) Azza Tag Eldin Bashir Babiker Elshafie holds an MSc Medical Laboratory Sciences from the University of Medical Science and Technology. She has over 10 years' experience working with three important institutions in Sudan; Communicable and Non Communicable Diseases Control, National Malaria Control Program, and the Lymphatic Filariasis & Sleeping Sickness Control. Her PhD will be focused on 'Mapping of Plasmodium falciparum HRP2&3 mutations and measuring their impact on diagnostic accuracy, antigen expression, virulence and anti HRP antibody production in individuals living in areas with different malaria transmission settings in Sudan'. Sudan is preparing for malaria elimination in the Northern states and the capital Khartoum. The prevalence of HRP2 mutations needs to be documented in order to develop an accurate malaria diagnostic algorithm.
Andreas Nshala (Tanzania) Andreas Nshala is a medical doctor and a public health specialist with over 15 years of experience and technical expertise in neglected tropical disease (NTD), HIV, malaria and maternal and child health interventions. Currently, he works with the National Secretariat of the Tanzania NTD Control program -- responsible for Monitoring and Evaluation; and is a Senior Technical Advisor with IMA World Health. Andreas holds a MD degree from the University of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and MPH degree from Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, USA. His proposed work on TIBA project focuses on evaluation of Lymphatic Filariasis transmission hotspots in areas that have persistent heavy infections despite >10 years of interventions. This project will gather knowledge and evidence of the effect of twice-a-year Ivermectin + Albendazole mass drug administration on the overall LF prevalence in human and vector population. Furthermore, he will establish other effects of this intervention on malaria and helminthiasis in these co-endemic communities. Findings from his work will inform policy at national and global level in effort to find alternative approaches to accelerating elimination of lymphatic filariasis- at risk population which is 55 million excluding the Lake zone which are none endemic people.
Wangoola Robert Mandela (Uganda) Wangoola Robert Mandela is the Programme Officer at the Coordinating Office for Control of Trypanosomiasis in Uganda (COCTU). He holds a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine, MSc Project Management and Master of Business Administration. He has seventeen years of working experience in Management, enterprise development, agricultural development, value chain approach management and community development and tsetse and Trypanosomiasis control. His PhD is to investigate the stability of human infective T.b. rhodeisiense and T.b. brucei in naturally infected cattle populations in Lango sub region, northern Uganda. Robert has been involved in other research projects such as the relationship between capacity building, marketing channels, perceived value and community wellbeing of dairy farmers in Kiboga and Kyankwanzi districts; the impact of NGOs services on community capacity building, participation and wellbeing in Luweero and Nakaseke districts; social economic impact of tsetse fly in the community of Nsinze Sub County Iganga district; and baseline survey on community animal health care systems in Uganda.
Tafadzwa Madanhire (Zimbabwe) Tafadzwa Madanhire Tafadzwa Madanhire is a 2nd year Masters in Biostatistics Zimbabwean student at the University of Zimbabwe. In his first degree he majored in statistics at the National University of Science and Technology and also attained a professional HIV/AIDS counselling in 2015. Over the years, Tafadzwa has developed a strong desire to come up with evidence-based interventions to combat infections in paediatrics in low income communities, mainly HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis. His current research interests are on establishing normal lung function values in children and young adults in Zimbabwe through pulmonary functions tests. Tafadzwa has 3 years' experience in medical research programs as a research assistant and junior statistician. He served as a research assistant, sensitizing communities on HIV and other public health government related programs. He also supported work on analysis of data on HIV, Malaria and TB research programs at the Biomedical Research and Training Institute, Zimbabwe. In this period, he was also involved and worked in the following research projects; Zimbabwe HIV Impact Assessment and Integration of HIV and SRH programs in Zimbabwe. Besides furthering his studies by enrolling for a PhD program, Tafadzwa's overall ambition is to participate in coming up with public health interventions through proper designing and analysis of public health research studies. He also has aspiration to be involved in manpower development actions mainly to equip researchers in proper designing and analysis of scientific studies.
Bernard Ngara (Zimbabwe) Bernard Ngara graduated with an MSc. Biostatistics from the University of Zimbabwe. He is a PhD student registered with the University of Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences (UZCHS). Bernard's current area of research is on applying Pharmacokinetic-Pharmacodynamic (PKPD) modelling techniques to data generated by quantifying drug concentrations in hair samples, with the aim to predict Human Immunodeficiency Virus or Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) treatment outcomes in African adolescents perceived to be at risk of sub-optimal exposure to treatment adherence. He has 6 years' experience in quantitative analysis (R/STATA/NONMEM), and is interested in applying his skills to finding evidence based solutions for public health problems.The experience involved the development of statistical techniques and using his expertise to design studies and analyze data. He also has experience in managing offline or web based tools for electronic data collection/capturing and archiving information using REDCap, ODK tools, or CSPro. Bernard has co-authored eight scientific journals published in peer reviewed journals. He was recently appointed into the UZCHS faculty as an assistant lecturer.
Caroline Mushayi (Zimbabwe) Caroline Mushayi obtained a BSc (Honours) in Statistics from the University of Zimbabwe. She has 3 years' experience in statistical data analysis. Caroline has worked as a statistician, analyzing different data sets, interpreting results and writing reports. She currently analyses food and inhalant allergies data at the Asthma, Allergy & Immune Dysfunction Clinic in Harare, Zimbabwe. Caroline is currently studying for a Masters in Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the Midlands State University. She is a hardworking and committed statistician with a passion for data and information management. Caroline's MSc research is on the 'Development and validation of an allergy prediction model in Zimbabwe using the application of differential equations'.
Joseph Chipinduro (Zimbabwe) Joseph Chipinduro holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health from the University of Western Cape (South Africa), where he is currently enrolled as a student on the Masters in Public Health programme. He is a medical research laboratory technologist at the National Institute of Health Research, Zimbabwe. Joseph's work involves research, training and service in the fields of infectious and non-infectious disease control, biomedicine and public health. He is keen on operational research focusing on monitoring and evaluation in an effort to improve efficiency in the delivery of evidence based health practices. Additionally, he is involved in the surveillance of the epidemiology and transmission of malaria. Joseph is actively involved in national programmes such as the Malaria Indicator Survey, Malaria Programme Reviews, General Malaria Case Management and conducting malaria therapeutic efficacy studies among other activities. The central focus of his current research is on the 'Assessment of Healthy Lifestyle Practices in Type 2 Diabetes Patients and Association with Glycated Haemoglobin Levels in Harare, Zimbabwe'. As such his study aims to assess healthy lifestyle practices in type 2 diabetes patients in Harare, Zimbabwe and determine any association with glycated haemoglobin levels. He hopes that from this study he will be able to assess how well type 2 diabetes patients conform to healthy living and ultimately determine how likely a healthy lifestyle appraisal can be a proxy marker for the control of blood sugar levels.
Rachel Nyakatawa (Zimbabwe) Rachel Nyakatawa is a young Zimbabwean lady currently studying for her Masters in Biostatistics at the University of Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences. She holds a BSc degree in Biological sciences and Statistics from the University of Zimbabwe. She has over the years gained interest in community health and child health in particular through her experience as a high school teacher in various institutions. Her major desire is to be able to come up with research ideas and interventions that will impact the lives of the general Zimbabwean children for the better. Rachel's current research interests lie in the characteristics of opportunistic infections (OIs) among HIV infected children (under 15 years) who attended the OI clinics in Chitungwiza during the 8 year period from 2010 to 2018. After graduating with her first degree, Rachel spent 7 years teaching in various institutions which varied from government schools to private colleges. It is during this time that she observed the challenges and the gaps that are generally present in children's health. Rachel's overall goal is not only to become an advocate, but to also develop studies and interventions that are scientifically sound to better the lives of children. She also hopes to enroll for a doctorate (PhD) after the completion of her Masters' degree.
Vhenekerai Masanganise (Zimbabwe) &Vhenekerai Masanganise is a medical doctor who is a paediatric intern, attached to the Department of Paediatrics, University of Zimbabwe. She is currently in her 2nd year of her Masters programme. She attained her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) degree in 2012 at the University of Zimbabwe. After her 2 years of housemanship, attached to Parirenyatwa group of Hospitals, she worked for 3 years (2014-2016) at the Family health care centre. There she developed a love for working with adolescents living with HIV /AIDS and gained experience in the field of Research. She obtained a good clinical practice certificate in April 2016 and participated in 2 studies: Peer Support Intervention study - supporting HIV positive adolescents in Zimbabwe to improve HIV care continuum outcomes; Voluntary Decentralisation of HIV patients in chronic care: Challenges and Clinical Observations, a local clinic analysis in 2014. Both studies were conducted at the Family Health Care centre, Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals. As a paediatric intern, her major interest is in the field of Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases. It is an area of research that has not been published on in Zimbabwe and as a student who firmly believes in making a difference to the Zimbabwean medical and scientific community through implementation of evidence based practices, she is drawn to this area of research and is focusing her master's dissertation on that topic.
Hope Mataramvura Muchatuta (Zimbabwe) Hope Mataramvura Muchatuta is a 2nd year Masters in Biotechnology student at the University of Zimbabwe. In her first degree she majored in biochemistry at the University of Zimbabwe. Her current research interests are on the identification of genetic signatures in patients with autoimmune conditions in Zimbabwe. Soon after completing her BSc degree she did some voluntary work in the science field and at society level. She worked as a research assistant in the molecular biology laboratory in the department of Biochemistry at the University of Zimbabwe. With Prof I.S Niang as the lead researcher, a study on molecular characterization of indigenous endophytes and determination of endophyte antibacterial properties was done. Hope has had the opportunity to work at an immune-specialist clinic, Asthma Allergy and Immunedysfunction clinic (AAIC) with one of the top immunologist in the country. She has worked on a food allergy epidemiology project under the same clinic. During her first year of the Master's program she managed to attain a certificate of Education and research training in health sciences. In addition to furthering her studies by enrolling for a PhD program, Hope's overall goal is to participate in public health interventions through research to improve procedures in disease diagnosis.
Paidamoyo Dhliwayo Magwenzi (Zimbabwe) Dr Paidamoyo Dhliwayo Magwenzi graduated from the University of Zimbabwe with a Bachelor's Degree in Medicine and Surgery in 2003. She also holds a Master of Medicine Degree in Paediatrics. She is currently working as a Consultant Paediatrician at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare, Zimbabwe. Her work is aimed at reducing child morbidity and mortality. She is a part time lecturer in the Department of Paediatrics, University of Zimbabwe and a tutor for the Sydney Child Health Programme. She has keen interest in patterns of respiratory disease in hospitalised children and their clinical, immunological and lung function outcomes.