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This month’s ambassador of the month is Vanessa Mwebaza Muwanga, Doctoral candidate at the University of Cape Town. Vanessa officially joined the Immunopeadia team in early 2020, however, she has been contributing to the website since early 2019. Vanessa has written multiple immunology summaries on Tuberculosis immunology and recently conducted two Immunologist of the month interviews of FATOUMATTA DARBOE and SIMON KIMUDA.
Research interests: Tuberculosis diagnostics, host-directed therapies, co-morbidities i.e. TB and type II diabetes and the role of PD-1 in TB disease progression especially in individuals with HIV.
My PhD project involves analysing multiple transcriptomic signatures and identifying one that highest potential to move forward for development of a point-of-care diagnostic test for TB.
The pandemic in 2020 definitely set my timelines back as far as carrying out any lab work was concerned. I decided to channel my energies more towards accomplishing each project milestone that did not require me being in the laboratory. I also had to find new ways to effectively communicate remotely with other members of my research team as we all worked from home.
Why I love immunology:The immune system is one of the most intelligent and fascinating systems of the body that also plays a very vital role in keeping us alive and healthy. There is still so much left for us to discover and understand about how the immune system operates and I want to contribute to those discoveries.
If I wasn’t an immunologist I would be: a baker and a writer.
Tips for young people who want to enter the field of immunology: Good mentorship is everything so please invest in it. Do not let yourself progress your career alone when there are people out there willing to guide you through. The field of Immunology is constantly evolving so it is very important to keep up to date with the latest literature so that one has the opportunity to enhance their current research, but also develop new ideas based on what is happening now.
What being an Immunopaedia Ambassador means to me: It has provided me with an opportunity to showcase my scientific writing skills, stay up to date with upcoming research in the field of Immunology but also highlight the work done by very amazing Immunologists the world over but within Africa in particular.
How I have contributed to Immunopaedia so far: I have written 5 breaking news articles that can be found on the Immunopaedia website:
- TB episode following PD-1 blockade
- Targeting the metabolic profile of latently infected macrophages as a potential treatment for HIV
- Aiding TB vaccine studies with the use of a mycobacterial growth inhibition assay
- The emerging role of IL-26 in fighting against intracellular microbes
- Impact of intermediate hyperglycaemia and diabetes on immune dysfunction in TB
I have also carried out interviews with two young budding Immunologists, Simon G. Kimuda & Fatoumatta Darboe, that are featured in the February and March (2021) Immunopaedia newsletters, respectively.
Contact Details:
Twitter: @muwitheninja4Xt, LinkedIn or email me @ mwebazavanessa@gmail.com or mwnvan001@myuct.ac.za
