Correspondents

Leen Vanheer trained as a medical doctor and is a PhD candidate at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the UK. Her research focuses on malaria genomics, including molecular markers of drug resistance, as well as on the transmission-blocking abilities of antimalarials

 Attending the Genomic Epidemiology of Malaria Conference and being a MESA correspondent are great opportunities that will allow me to stay updated on the latest advancements in malaria research. I am looking forward to connecting with fellow malaria researchers and helping disseminate the exciting research presented at this conference.

Lilian Mbaisi is a young Kenyan scientist passionate about tackling tropical diseases. She holds a BSc and MSc from the University of Nairobi. In 2016, she joined the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) and has been part of the innovative malaria team which recently isolated a groundbreaking malaria-blocking microbe in mosquitoes. She is currently continuing this research, under the supervision of Prof. Ozlem T. Bishop at Rhodes University and Dr. Jeremy Herren at icipe as a PhD fellow at Rhodes University (South Africa).

To be a MESA Correspondent will be indubitably an invaluable experience.

Lucas Low is an entomologist at the Tropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia.  His current research interests include insect vectors of medical-veterinary importance such as mosquitoes, flies, ticks, fleas, lice, and mites; and their associated infectious disease agents.

As a MESA correspondent, I had the opportunity to delve deeper into the topic of Plasmodium knowlesi and its mosquito vectors. This experience allowed me to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the complexities surrounding this particular malaria parasite and its transmission dynamics.

Lucy W. Mwangi is a Research Scientist with a focus on Infectious Diseases and Global Health. She is a PhD candidate in Microbiology-Immunology at the University of Nairobi, Kenya. Her research interests are immune-regulation and molecular mechanisms of infection; and infectious disease prevention. Her motivation as a researcher is to generate new scientific data and to effectively translate it for feasible application to health.

I believe participating as a MESA correspondent at the ASTMH conference will be an invaluable learning opportunity and a great experience.

Mamadou Samb Yade is the Bioinformatics Unit Manager for the Pathogen Culture Unit at the International Research Training Center on Genomics and Health Surveillance (CIGASS), Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal.

Being a MESA Correspondent will greatly enhance my visibility, linguistic abilities, and networking skills. It will also help me develop my report writing and learn from experts about the latest malaria innovations. It’s an honor to assist other people.

Manuela Runge is an infectious disease epidemiologist and modeller with a strong epidemiological background, including large-scale field surveys in Tanzania. She applies mathematical modelling to assess the impact of public health interventions and advise on deployment strategies. Her work at MM Global Health Consulting spans evidence synthesis, vaccines, and neglected tropical diseases. She is a former board member and co-chair of the Best Practices Committee of the Applied Malaria Modelling Network (AMMnet).

Manuela joined the correspondence program in 2018 as a PhD student, where she first developed scientific reporting skills. After a second term as a correspondent, she later became a Senior Editor, supporting early-career researchers. She has since applied these skills to share highlights from public health events through LinkedIn articles and continues to contribute to knowledge sharing

The ASTMH provides an impressive amount of malaria talks every year and I look forward to contributing to the MESA reports from this important conference.

The MESA correspondence program had been a valuable experience for me two times. Both times I could connect with fellow correspondents and the MESA team and learned about the latest malaria research during the conference

Masudi Suleiman is a research scientist at Ifakara Health Institute (IHI), Tanzania, with an MSc in Public Health Research. He develops and applies improved methos to evaluate vector control products. He also explores the impact of climate change on mosquito vectors and their associated diseases.

Being a MESA correspondent brings a wonderful opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to malaria research and its eradication efforts.

Mauro Pazmino Betancourth is a PhD student at University of Glasgow with a research focus on quantum cascade lasers and their application in spectroscopy for mosquito surveillance.

PAMCA annual conference is one of the most important events related to vector-borne diseases and it is a great opportunity to communicate research to a wider audience. I believe it is my duty to serve the community by strengthening my public engagement skills, and I look forward to doing so as a MESA correspondent volunteer.

Maya Fraser is a Research Associate with the MACEPA project at PATH, focusing primarily on impact evaluation. She has an MPH from the University of Washington.

I am interested in learning more about how we can create optimal intervention mixes and improve coverage of existing interventions. I am excited to work as a MESA correspondent to share new research with our colleagues across the world!

Melina Florez-Cuadros works at the Naval Medical Research Unit Nº6 through the Vysnova, Inc. in Peru. She holds a PhD in Entomology and is also a DVM. Currently, she is part of the Immunology team developing prophylactic treatments and vaccines against multiple human pathogens such as malaria.

The opportunity to volunteer as MESA Correspondent would help me to learn even more about malaria, because in addition to attending the talks, writing about them will drive me to really understand the topic.