Conference Speakers
Dr Jaishree Raman
Principal Medical Scientist at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD).
Plenary Speaker
Dr Jaishree Raman is a molecular biologist by training with a strong interest in malaria and public health. Jaishree currently heads the Laboratory for Antimalarial Resistance Monitoring and Malaria Operational Research (ARMMOR) at the NICD. The core focus of ARMMOR is to improve malaria diagnostic and treatment options, with the ultimate aim of assisting South Africa and Africa to eliminate malaria. To this end, ARMMOR hosts the South African National Surveillance Programme for Antimalarial Drug and Diagnostic Resistance Monitoring. This robust surveillance programme enables the near real-time tracking of emerging resistance to inform case management policy and prompt containment responses. In partnership with collaborators from other malaria endemic countries and research organizations including the Universities of Cape Town, Pretoria, Namibia and California-San Francisco, Dr Raman’s laboratory is currently investigating novel techniques and technologies aimed at improving malaria case detection and treatment practices. View Speaker
Professor Heather Ferguson
Professor in Medical Entomology and Disease Ecology at the University of Glasgow
Plenary Speaker
Professor Heather Ferguson is a vector ecologist whose work encompasses study of the ecology, behaviour and control of mosquitoes that transmit malaria and arboviruses. She is involved in the development of new tools for vector surveillance and control with partners from malaria endemic countries. Professor Ferguson has a long-term research and training partnership on malaria vector research with the Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania, where she holds a position as a Visiting Scientist Position. She has been a Co-Chair of the World Health Organization’s Vector Control Advisory Group since 2019. View Speaker
Dr Deus Ishengoma
Principal Research Scientist and the head of Genomics Laboratory at the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Guest Speaker
Dr Deus S. Ishengoma's research focuses on capacity building and pathogen genomics, with a focus on the surveillance of parasite populations, antimalarial drug resistance and efficacy of antimalarials. He is also leading several collaborative projects which are investigating the genomics of malaria parasites, human genome variations and rare diseases in Tanzania. Dr. Ishengoma has published over 70 publications in peer reviewed journals. He is a member of different associations and networks, including the Genomic Epidemiology of Malaria Network (MalariaGEN), US President's Malaria Initiative-Supported Antimalarial Resistance Monitoring in Africa Network (PARMA) and ASTMH. He is the recipient of 2019 Magill Fellowship and the co-founder of the Pathogen Diversity Network Africa (PDNA), Tanzania Human Genetics Organization and African Society of Antimicrobial Resistance. View Speaker
Dr Isabella Oyier
Associate Professor and the Head of the Biosciences Department at the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP).
Guest Speaker
Dr Isabella Oyier (Molecular Biologist) is currently a Calestous Juma Fellow, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2021, to Integrate malaria molecular epidemiology into routine surveillance in Kenya. A project that partners with the Division of National Malaria Programme to implement malaria molecular surveillance activities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I lead the COVID-19 testing and co-ordinate the regional genomic surveillance in collaboration with Africa CDC and WHO-Afro. She previously was awarded a Wellcome Intermediate Fellowship and was a Visiting Lecturer at the Centre for Biotechnology and Bioinformatics (CEBIB), University of Nairobi, in 2011-2016. She has been and is a member of several technical working groups on genomic surveillance, including the DNMP Operational Research committee of experts. She has over 45 publications in peer-reviewed journals. Her research interests are in Plasmodium falciparum malaria molecular epidemiology, focusing on the spatial and temporal use of molecular tools to: 1) examine genetic variation in merozoite antigens that are potential candidates for blood stage vaccines and its impact on naturally acquired immunity; 2) define complexity of infection while examining the impact of interventions or changes in malaria epidemiology; 3) distinguish persistent infections and reinfections in both therapeutic efficacy studies and in longitudinal follow up of asymptomatic individuals; and 4) monitor drug resistance molecular markers. View Speaker
Dr Corine Ngufor
Associate Professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK and a lead scientist at the Centre de Recherche Entomologique de Cotonou, Ministry of Health, Benin.
Plenary Speaker
Dr Corine Ngufor completed her MSc and PhD in public health entomology from LSHTM. She leads a diverse collaborative research programme of 65 members in Benin focused on developing new effective vector control tools. She has led several research grants funded by the IVCC, WHO, USAID, Gates Foundation, Global Fund, UNITAID and various chemical companies that have contributed to the development of a new generation of insecticide treated nets (ITN) and indoor residual spray products (IRS) for controlling insecticide resistant malaria vectors and the identification of suitable methods for evaluating their efficacy and durability. She is co-Chair of the vector control working group of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership and member of WHO advisory committees for evaluation of new ITNs and IRS products. Corine is passionate about developing research capacity in Africa, training younger research scientists, and supporting the careers of African women scientists. View Speaker
Professor Diabate Abdoulaye
Group lead of the Vector Biology Department at IRSS, Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso and is the Director of the World Bank funded Center of Excellence on Vector Borne Diseases in Burkina Faso.
Plenary Speaker
Professor Diabate Abdoulaye is a vector ecologist and a leader in the fight against malaria reduction in Africa. Following his PhD degree in Parasitology from the University of Montpellier France, he spent four years as a postdoc fellow at the National Institute of Health, United States. His research areas focused on two different but complementary directions. First, it involves insecticide resistance and its management and second, it is focused on population biology, ecological studies on phenotypic variation within and between populations of mosquitoes and analyses of its genetic and environmental sources. He is particularly interested in mosquito male biology and related transgenic and sterile male’s approaches to control vector diseases. He has been an invited speaker in several prestigious universities including the Harvard University. He is the recipient of the Royal Society Pfizer award in 2013, laureate of the academic palms of the government of Burkina Faso in 2014, the PAMCA life achievement Award in 2019, the AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize in 2020 and Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences since 2021. View Speaker
Dr Samuel Nsobya
Senior Lecturer Department of Pathology, School of Biomedical Science, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University Uganda, Laboratory Director, Molecular Research Laboratory (Molab) Infectious Disease Research Collaboration (IDRC) in Uganda, Laboratory Consultant for WHO and ICF Macro U.S.
Guest Speaker
Dr Samuel Nsobya has 30 years experience in laboratory science and Medicine using state of the art immunonal and molecular techniques namely: in vitro studies of Plasmodium falciparum and monitor drug resistance, genotyping of malaria parasites, identification of molecular markers of antimalarial drug resistance. He has published over 67 papers in peer reviewed Journals. In addition, he has been teaching both undergraduate and postgraduate students in laboratory medicine, Molecular Biology and Heamatology /Blood Transfusion at Makerere University. He is a member of US President's Malaria Initiative-Supported Antimalarial Resistance Monitoring in Africa Network (PARMA) and America Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH). His research interests are in translation research, diagnostic and antimalarial drug resistance in malaria and other infectious diseases. View Speaker
Dr Agaba Bosco
Molecular Epidemiologist and Laboratory Scientist and the national coordinator for Laboratory services at the National Malaria Control Division in Kampala Uganda.
Guest Speaker
Dr Agaba Bosco oversees molecular epidemiological and genomics surveillance for malaria parasites and other pathogens of epidemic potential. His current research focuses on investigating biological and molecular changes that enable malaria parasites to escape diagnostic detection or anti-malarial drug treatment with special focus on pfhrp2/3 gene deletions and artemisinin resistance. His scientific laboratory work identified and reported Dr. Agaba B. Bosco (PhD) for the first time on a large scale the mutant parasites that cause malaria rapid diagnostic test failure, and is currently investigating the mechanisms, evolution and transmission dynamics of gene deletions and artemisinin drug resistance in malaria parasites. Dr. Agaba has previously worked with NIH funded clinical trials, has published over 35 scientific papers in peer review journals and is currently a reviewer of four scientific journals. Dr. Agaba is working to integrate genomics and molecular epidemiological surveillance into routine surveillance systems and how this evidence shapes policy and disease control programs within the Ministry of Health. Agaba is a member of the WHO Global surveillance and drug resistance monitoring team, a member of the national technical and advisory committee for laboratory services in Uganda and served as a member of the Global harmonization task force for of malaria Diagnostics. View Speaker
Mark Latham
Retired Entomologist and Mosquito Control Program Director.
Plenary Speaker
Mark Latham is a retired Entomologist and Mosquito Control Program Director who has spent more than 40 years working in governmental mosquito control programs utilizing IVM approaches, most of that time in the state of Florida, USA. After graduating from the University of Cambridge in 1979 and leading the 1979 Cambridge Medical Expedition to Brazil (to study Chagas disease), Mark took a position as a graduate research assistant at the Mosquito Research and Control Unit (MRCU) in the Cayman Islands (1980). His responsibilities included conducting research on the biology and control of the Black Saltmarsh mosquito (Aedes taeniorhynchus) and managing teams of local staff in all aspects of Integrated Vector Management. This included a comprehensive surveillance system to detect re-introductions of Aedes aegypti onto the island in order to maintain the “eradication status” of this important disease vector. In 1985, Mark took a position as a supervisor/entomologist with the Miami-Dade mosquito control section, responsible for the mosquito control operations protecting a population of 2.5 million residents in a mixed urban/suburban/rural area of Florida, USA. During his 9 years in Miami he developed an interest and expertise in the science of the aerial application of mosquito control products, both larvicides and adulticides. The primary mosquito species targeted in Miami included urban container species (Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus) and rural floodwater species (Aedes taeniorhynchus, Psorophora columbiae and many others), mostly as nuisance rather than disease vectors. In 1994, Mark accepted the position of Director of the Manatee County Mosquito Control District on the west coast of Florida, a position he held for 26 years until his retirement in 2020. As an Independent Taxing District, in addition to his regular management responsibilities, this provided the flexibility to conduct operational research, allowing him to work with university scientists and industry members on research subjects to improve mosquito control methods and practice. This included studies on non-target impacts, new products and formulations, pesticide resistance, optimum droplet sizing through new application equipment, canopy penetration of both larvicides and adulticides, and comparisons between different actives on multiple species. Outside of his work managing a mosquito control district in Florida, Mark has served as an expert advisor/consultant to many other programs, most notable of which has been with WHOPES (helping develop specifications and guidelines on a number of subjects) and mosquito control applicators in northern Greece during the West Nile virus epidemic between 2009-2012. He has traveled widely to give presentations on a number of subjects at regional meetings within the US, and has also been a guest speaker at conferences in Europe and Australia. Since retiring from Manatee County MCD in 2020, Mark continues to work part-time as a consultant with IVCC and with mosquito control product manufacturers. He has also returned to work part-time at the District, helping out in the laboratory and with research projects. Mark is a member of the American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA) and the Florida Mosquito Control Association (FMCA), serving as its President in 2002. He has served on many committees and continues to teach at annual training sessions, primarily on the subjects of aerial application and the importance of correct droplet sizes for efficient pesticide targeting. Mark has been married to his wife Charlotte for 37 years, and they have three Children: Caroline 33, Peter 30 and Alex 26. They live in Bradenton, Florida, USA. View Speaker
Dr Corine Karema
Interim CEO of the RBM Partnership to End Malaria.
Plenary Speaker
Dr. Corine Karema is a Medical Doctor with a Master’s degree in Sciences in Epidemiology from the University of Rwanda. She is a global health leader and recognised malaria expert. She recently served as Special Advisor to the Board Chair of The Global Fund, a partnership designed to accelerate the end of AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria as epidemics. Previously, she was the Malaria Senior Programme Officer at the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) and led the malaria experts’ group of the technical Panel review of the Global Fund. Before serving as an independent consultant at the National Malaria Control and Elimination Programs in Africa where she provided technical assistance, Dr. Karema was Director of the Rwanda National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) for ten years, following five years as Head of the Malaria & Other Parasitic Diseases (Neglected Tropical Diseases) Division. During her time at the NMCP, she led the development of malaria control strategies, policies, and research, which has guided the implementation of evidence-based malaria control interventions resulting in increased coverage of key interventions and reductions in malaria morbidity and mortality in Rwanda. She has served as a member and leader of different malaria technical, scientific advisory, and steering committees of many international institutions such as WHO, RBM, MMV, ASTMH, etc. Dr. Karema has published and co-authored many scientific journals on malaria as a researcher. View Speaker
Professor Nico Govella
Chief Research Scientist and head of department at the Ifakara Health Institute, Tanzania, and Research affiliate at the University of Glasgow.