Immunologist of the Month- 2019
Every month we will feature a new interview with an Immunologist. These Immunologists are at the cutting-edge of research and education, they have kindly offered to give us their time and insight into their research and studies.
December 2019
Our Immunologist of the Month is Prof. Dr. Luka Cicin-Sain, Professor at Hannover Medical School (MHH) and a member of the Centre for Individualized Infection Medicine (CIIM), a joint venture of MHH and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Germany. A physician-scientist by training, Prof. Dr. Luka Cicin-Sain’s career took him from his native Croatia to Sweden, USA and finally Germany, where he is the leader of the Immune Aging and Chronic Infections Group in the HZI Vaccinology Department. His research team focuses on Cytomegaloviruses biology, infective mechanisms and host immune responses, and his discoveries were recently featured in the German media. He welcomed us to his lab located in the Science Campus Braunschweig-Süd, a research hub that includes the German Centre for Infection Research, the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine and the German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, where he told us about his work and gave us his valuable insight on science, career planning among other issues.
Read more: Luka Cicin-Sain Interview
November 2019
Our November Immunologist of the Month is Collins Ouma, Professor in Biomedical Sciences at the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Technology, Maseno University, Kenya. Collins obtained his PhD in immunogenetics at Kenyatta University in 2007. At Maseno University, Collins has led the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Technology, was a Dean of the School of Public Health and Community Development and later was the Director of Research, Publications and Innovations. He has also transitioned through several positions including being the Program Leader for Health Challenges and Systems, African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) and Director, Research and Knowledge Translation at the African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP). He has also led several research teams in both immunology and genetics on infectious and non-communicable diseases.
Read more: Collins Ouma Interview
October 2019
Our October Immunologist of the Month is Associate Professor Jayne Sutherland, Head of the TB Platform and Immunology laboratory at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit The Gambia at London School of Health and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). A/Prof Sutherland completed her Doctoral studies and first (2 years) Post-Doc in Melbourne (Monash University) where her research focused on cancer immunotherapy. She moved to MRC in 2006 as a Post-Doc researcher on a Bill and Melinda Gates foundation project on TB biomarkers, and is now head of the TB division.
Read More: Jayne Sutherland Interview
September 2019
Our September immunologist of the month is Professor Dennis Burton, Chair and Professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla, USA). His research is focused on infectious disease, in particular the interplay of antibodies and highly mutable viruses, notably HIV. He is interested in the potential of broadly neutralizing antibodies to inform vaccine design.
The immunopaedia team conducted a written interview of Prof. Burton, discussing his research and achievements
Read More: Dennis Burton Interview
August 2019
Our August immunologist of the month is Professor Monika Maria Esser (born in Cologne, Germany). Prof. Esser is a physician-scientist who was appointed as Head of the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) Immunology Unit, Medical Microbiology, Tygerberg Hospital at Stellenbosch University in 2005 (and is retiring this year). She has been a Paediatric Rheumatology Certified Consultant for Paediatric Immunology Clinic since 1991 and Rheumatology Clinic since 1995.
The immunopaedia team conducted a written interview of Prof. Esser discussing her research interests and how she became an immunologist
Read More: Monika M. Esser Interview
July 2019
Our July Immunologist of the month is Faatima Laher from the Cape Town HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) Immunology Laboratory (CHIL). Faatima is a recent PhD graduate, and currently a Scientific Officer at CHIL. Her research focuses on studying the cellular immune responses to putative HIV and TB vaccines. The immunopaedia team was very fortunate to interview Faatima, and learn more about her transition from academia to a clinical vaccines research centre.
Read More: Faatima Laher Interview
June 2019
This month we have a special interview/feature on Julio Lenin Domínguez Ramírez. Prof. Ramírez was one of the faculty members at the IUIS-ALAI-SMI-Immunoinformatics Course 2019. A special article was written highlighting his talk and interview during the course.
The immunopaedia team was fortunate to have a member of the Center for Complexity Science (C3), UNAM Ingrid Tinoco share this interview.
Read More: Julio Lenin Domínguez Ramírez
May 2019
Our May Immunologist of the month is Virginie Rozot from the University of Cape Town. Virginie conducted her PhD Research at the University of Lausanne, which she completed in 2013. She then began a Post-Doctoral Research fellowship at the South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative, University of Cape Town. Her research focuses on understanding Tuberculosis-specific immune responses associated with different stages of infection and disease progression, as well as novel TB vaccine responses.
The immunopaedia team was very fortunate to interview Virginie, and learn more about her career trajectory.
Read More- Virginie Rozot Interview
April 2019
This month we conducted a special interview series highlighting Immunologist who were faculty members of the 8th Infectious Disease in Africa Symposium that took place in November 2018.
March 2019
Our Immunologist of the month is Assistant Professor Babacar Mbengue based at the University Cheikh Anta Diop, Senegal. Our Immunopaedia ambassador Mahaman Moustapha Lamine conducted this interview.
Read more at: Babacar Mbengue Interview
Listen to original audio interview in french below
January 2019
Our January Immunologist of the month is Lyle McKinnon from the University of Manitoba. Lyle did his PhD at the University of Manitoba focused on understanding HIV-specific CTL responses and HIV diversity under the supervision of Frank Plummer. His postdoctoral work was carried out at the University of Toronto on defining mucosal HIV target cells in the female genital tract, with Rupert Kaul. During his training he spent ~10 years in Nairobi, Kenya carrying out field research including epidemiological and immunological studies of high risk men and women. He then spent >3 years at CAPRISA in Durban, South Africa continuing his work in mucosal immunology in the context of HIV prevention trials in women.
Since 2015 he has been an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases and Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba, with cross appointments at CAPRISA and the University of Nairobi. His research interests include understanding the causes and consequences of inflammation in the female genital tract, HIV target cells including those that home to the gut, and HIV transmission in men having sex with men in Kenya.
The Immunopaedia team conducted a written interview about Dr Lyle McKinnon highlighting his research interests in the field of HIV immunology and advice for early career scientists.
Read More- Lyle McKinnon Interview
