Correspondents
The reports from malaria-related conferences would not be possible without the active engagement and collaboration of the MESA Correspondents. We appreciate your time and effort, but most importantly, your enthusiasm and willingness to write fantastic reports that expand access to emerging evidence in malaria research.
Nutpakal Ketprasit is a final-year PhD candidate in the Tilley Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Bio21 Institute, The University of Melbourne, Australia. He is deeply passionate about malaria research, especially the biology of the parasites and antimalarial development. His PhD focuses on validating Plasmodium aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases as novel antimalaria targets using various techniques in cellular biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, biophysics, and structural biology.I’m thrilled to rejoin the MESA Correspondents team to cover the Molecular Approach to Malaria Conference 2024. This enables me to leverage my knowledge and experience to share current advancements in malaria research with our community.
Olajoju Temidayo Soniran (PhD) is a Parasitologist and Lecturer at Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechnic, Unwana, Nigeria. His PhD thesis on drug resistant Plasmodium falciparum was supported with funds raised on MalariaWorld platform in 2014, and recently he completed a WHO/TDR postdoctoral training fellowship on malaria implementation research.
Attending the ASTMH as a MESA correspondent is a great opportunity to show appreciation to malaria professionals that could not attend the ASTMH meeting (by contributing to accurate MESA reports), sharpen my transferable career development skills, and learn from the conference talks and presentations.
Otubea Owusu Akrofi is a Medical Entomologist with the National Malaria Control Programme, Ghana. She leads the vector control unit that implements vector control interventions such as the distribution of long-lasting insecticidal net (LLINs), indoor residual spraying (IRS), larviciding and entomological surveillance across the country. Her interest is in vector control, vector behaviour and insecticide resistance.
It was a privilege for me to work as a MESA correspondent at PAMCA. This unearthed a knack in me that I almost forgot I had.
Oyinkansola Suliat Fadiji PhD started off in microbiology and currently works at the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Ogun State in Nigeria. As a parasitologist, she has worked on mosquito surveillance and insecticide resistance testing where her responsibilities included facilitating community entry which relies extensively on communication skills.
Working with MESA will help hone my skills in the simplification of science thereby promoting interest and understanding beyond the scientific community.
Patricia Doumbe Belisse is a trainee serving as a research assistant at OCEAC, a research Institute of the Central African Region based in Yaoundé, Cameroon. She will defend her PhD dissertation at University of Yaoundé I in the next couple of months and she is very much looking forward to furthering her career as a medical entomologist. She is also looking for opportunities to build her capacity in mosquito and parasite genomics and malaria drug resistance.
Being a MESA correspondent at Keystone Symposia was a great opportunity to learn about the latest research on malaria drug resistance and discovery reason why now I am happy to collaborate again.
Priya Kumari is a PhD student at the National Institute of Malaria Research in New Delhi, India. Her research work/interest focuses on developing accessible, cost-effective solutions to enhance early detection and treatment, ensuring improved healthcare outcomes specializing in point-of-care testing (POCT) suitable for low- and middle-income countries.
I’m honored to be a MESA correspondent, where I’ll have a great opportunity to enhance my knowledge of the latest scientific advancements. This will refine my writing, communication, and networking skills. I am deeply grateful to the MESA team for providing me with this incredible role.
Rebecca Pwalia, Chief Research Assistant with the Vector Biology group of the Parasitology department, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Ghana. Her research interests include malaria vector control research and development of vector control tools, genomic vector surveillance, and insecticide resistance monitoring and management.
It was a wonderful learning experience to be a MESA Correspondent in 2020 for the 69th ASTMH meeting. I look forward to this opportunity once again at the 2nd WIM 2025 Conference.
Rinter Karimi Kimathi is currently pursuing her PhD on the association between malaria infection and autoimmunity at the University of Glasgow. She has a strong interest in the immunology of both infectious and non-infectious diseases. Her current research is interdisciplinary, focusing on the intersection between malaria and autoimmune diseases.
Being a MESA correspondent will be an excellent opportunity to advance my science communication and reporting skills while also attending the prestigious BioMalPar conference.
