This week, we place our spotlight on Christine Achiaa Antwi, a final year MPhil student, driven by her interest in finding a treatment for Leishmania donovani, a specie that causes Leishmaniasis, a disease associated with fever, weight loss, and enlarged spleen and liver.
Where did you grow up and what are your interests?
I grew up in Tema, in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. I like to cook.
What were your future aspirations as a child? Did those dreams change as you grew up or you are achieving them?
As a student intern at Tema General Hospital in 2008, my curiosity for parasites was aroused by microscopic observation of certain micro parasites like schistosomes and malaria parasites, because of their interesting morphology and the complex host-pathogen interactions they exhibited. One striking observation made was the extracellular and intracellular roles in the host adopted by the parasites during infection. This sparked an interest in me to work in diagnostic laboratories in order to gain informative techniques in identifying parasites at all stages of their life cycle. After working in these laboratories for a while, I realized the need for better understanding of parasites life cycles at the cellular and molecular level, thus I got myself enrolled in the WACCBIP MPhil programme to achieve these aspirations.
Which laboratory are you currently working with and when did you start?
I am currently attached to Dr. Theresa Manful-Gwira's Lab, carrying out research on Leishmania parasites. I joined the team in August 2017.
What is your research area and why are you passionate about it?
My work focuses on Leishmania donovani, more specifically on the mechanistic effects of iron chelators on the parasite's survival and infection.
What do you like about WACCBIP? Any experience you can share from workshops, seminars and interacting with international faculty?
WACCBIP has provided an avenue for me to do research parallel to international standards. Skills acquired from workshops, seminars and interactions with faculty are immeasurable. The MPhil programme is packed with lots of advanced scientific knowledge, and tutelage by the faculty is great.
What impact do you think your research will have in the world in the next decade?
The study would expand knowledge of additional components in the
critical pathway for Leishmania intracellular survival, thus providing avenues for therapeutic intervention for Leishmaniasis.
Any future plans you want to share and any advice you would like to give to prospective students?
I am opened to greater opportunities especially in parasitology research. My advice is that life is never predictable, and the lost time can never be recouped. Always give it your best shot. Things may not seem as planned but as you keep trying and forging ahead you are creating alternatives and possibilities.
To all prospective students, it's a valuable opportunity to be trained by WACCBIP since graduate programmes at the Centre have gained international advanced degree accreditation from the Royal Society of Biology (UK). Undoubtedly, WACCBIP is an ideal place to pursue postgraduate studies and gain relevant research experience which matches international standards.
