Tackling Neglected Diseases: From Research to Impact - Lorraine Pfavayi

Hosted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Wealth Okete⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, The Immunology in Africa Podcast explores narratives at the nexus of immunology & Africa. We ask professors, postdocs, PhD students, and everyone in between to tell us about their journey into immunology, the questions driving their current work, and the impact they hope to make on the continent.

To support our efforts towards amplifying African stories of immunology, you can ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠buy us coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠nominate a guest⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

--

Dr. Lorraine Pfavayi is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Edinburgh and a TIBA Postdoctoral Fellow. She holds a DPhil in Clinical Medicine from the University of Oxford, where she investigated fungal allergic diseases in regions co-endemic with parasitic infections.

Her current research focuses on developing point-of-care diagnostic tools for schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease commonly linked with fresh water snails. She is also involved in the Affected Voices programme, which promotes the inclusion of people with lived experience of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in health policy and service delivery.

Her work is driven by a commitment to integrating basic science with global health policy to deliver equitable, context-relevant solutions for vulnerable communities.

In this episode, Pfavayi discusses the need for context-relevant approaches to addressing the burden of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in Africa and highlights how her ongoing work centers local contexts, community persepctives, and African-led approaches in the development of solutions for NTDs.

--

To participate in our Quizzes, visit our social media platforms via the links below.

- ImmunoAfrica: ⁠linktr.ee/immuno.africa⁠

- Immunopaedia: ⁠immunopaedia.org.za⁠

--

Timestamps:

00:00 – podcast intro

01:05 – guest intro

01:50 – overview of career journey, getting into NTDs research

03:40 – what are NTDs? why NTDs?

06:52 – key contributions towards NTDs research; factoring in under-5 for schistosomiasis management

14:16 – ImmunoAfrica x Immunopaedia quiz interlude

15:07 – involving local communities in the entire project pipeline of research studies

16:17 – PhD research: fungal allergies in NTDs-endemic communities

26:21 – post-doctoral research project: towards tailoring NTDs innovations and interventions for infants and young children; local communities

36:30 – highlights of findings

43:40 – the role of mentors in her career development

44:45 – final remarks: dealing with imposter syndrome

46:32 – outro