Meet the Dedicated Team Behind the Project

Trudie Lang is Professor of Global Health Research; Head of The Global Health Network and Senior Research Scientist in Tropical Medicine, Nuffield Department of Medicine. She has over 20 years’ experience in running clinical trials, including trials in the developing world, for the pharmaceutical industry, the World Health Organisation and in academia. Trudie focuses on combating diseases of poverty through the generation of high-quality evidence. She has worked in industry, academia and UN organisations. With her team and partners, she works to drive better health outcomes in vulnerable communities by enabling local leadership and ground-up implementation of high-quality health research studies. Within the University of Oxford, she devised and leads The Global Health Network which is a major international collaborative enterprise that sets out to improve health by improving research.

Paul Kingpriest is a research physician with expertise in mapping access to healthcare and environmental health surveillance in sub-Saharan Africa. He has a wealth of experience coordinating clinical and public health research projects with public health institutes and private research organisations to address health inequity. He is a proficient health data analyst, and he currently serves as a research project coordinator at The Global Health Network, University of Oxford.

Bonny Baker has a background in Paediatric trials, with a sub-specialty interest in nutrition and neuro-disability; and a Masters in Global Health and International Development from University College London. In her role at The Global Health Network, Bonny is the Regional Programme Lead for the operational team based in Oxford; working closely with researchers and study teams, both independently and as part of consortia-led projects to enhance local research capacity. As a Global Health Practitioner, she has led the coordination of research capacity work packages across multiple consortia-based programmes spanning Africa and Latin America.

Sainabou is a Gambian Scientist passionate about Human Genetics, Translational Research and Capacity Building. She has work experience in genomics, which was gained while working at the Medical Research Council the Gambia (MRCG) as a Scientific Officer. This involved roles including but not limited to sequencing, data analysis and conducting trainings. She is the founder & Chairperson of the Human Genetics Awareness Association (HuGAA) currently registered in the Gambia with the main aim of destigmatising and promoting awareness of genetic diseases. She has recently completed her MSc in Genomic Medicine at the University of Oxford.

Bart Mesuere is a professor of Big Data Science at Ghent University in Belgium. Passionate about meta-omics, he has contributed to the community by developing several open-source tools for data analysis. In addition, Bart has a keen interest in creating interactive visualizations and user-friendly public dashboards, making complex data more approachable for all.

Lennart Martens is Senior Full Professor of Systems Biology at Ghent University and Group Leader of the ompOmics group at VIB, both in Ghent, Belgium. In 2003 he created the PRIDE repository for the dissemination of proteomics data at EMBL-EBI in Cambridge, UK. After his Ph.D., he led the newly created PRIDE group at EMBL-EBI, establishing the system as the world’s foremost public proteomics data repository. In 2009, he moved back to Ghent University and VIB, where he focuses on novel machine learning algorithms for omics data analysis, and their application to the large-scale reprocessing of public data.

Assoc. Prof. Tarja Pitkänen has 20 years experience on water microbiology and environmental health, and interest on topics related to One Health. Her Waterborne Pathogens research group focuses on water hygiene, solutions preventing waterborne infections, management of fecal contamination in water resources and wastewater-based epidemiology. She has published more than 100 scientific articles. Assoc. Prof. Pitkänen is involved in several national and international expert duties related to the health-related water microbiology, microbial water safety, waterborne infection risk assessment and waterborne outbreak preparedness. She leads the Finnish environmental (wastewater-based) surveillance program for infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance.

Dr. Rolf Lood, an Associate Professor and Principal Investigator at Lund University, Faculty of Medicine, spearheads a dedicated research group specializing in Experimental Infection Medicine. His research endeavors are centered on unraveling the intricate mechanisms underlying the propagation and regulation of antimicrobial resistance, with a particular emphasis on transduction.

Dr. Vito Baraka is a Principal Researcher and Head of Biomedical Research Department who holds a PhD in Medical Sciences from the Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences Universiteit of Antwerp, Belgium (July 2018). He obtained Masters of Molecular Biology (MSc.) in Vrije Universiteit of Brussels & Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Belgium (Oct 2010-Sept 2012) and his B.Sc. in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BSc MBB) from the University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (Sept 2004-November 2007). Dr. Baraka research background applies molecular and genomics epidemiological approaches to solve practical problems in infectious diseases control. He has a strong interest in infectious diseases, malaria in particular, focusing on chemoprevention strategies, disease epidemiology and drug resistance surveillance (AMR). His current projects include the development malaria chemoprevention strategies including Intermittent Presumptive Treatment in different vulnerable populations (IPTp, SMC, IPTsc etc.), impact of climate change on vector borne infections, new COVID-19 diagnostics strategies, clinical trials on uncomplicated and severe malaria, AMR metagenomics, tracking and mapping regional spread of antimalarial drug resistance (artemisinin and partners drugs) using molecular/genomics tools to inform local and regional practices and policies on infectious disease prevention, treatment and elimination efforts.

Dr. Adriana Krolicka is a Senior Researcher at Norwegian Research Centre (NORCE). Over the last 18 years, Adriana's scientific work has focused on biodiversity, environmental DNA, detection of human and animal pathogens in aquatic environments, and the application of monitoring tools. Dr. Krolicka has participated in projects leading to semi-automation or automation of environmental DNA in order to track molecular signatures of anthropogenic pollution.

Doctor Ananda Tiwari, Ph.D., is a water microbiologist at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland. His research spans public health microbiology, microbial water quality, fecal contamination, wastewater surveillance, natural and engineered water systems, antimicrobial resistance, and OneHealth. As an Environmental engineer, he is interested in wastewater, and drinking water treatment, assessing health risks, pathogen transmission through environmental systems, diarrheal diseases, sanitation and hygiene in developing countries, molecular detection, next-gen sequencing, and characterizing active microbial communities in water. Dr. Tiwari collaborates on waterborne outbreak preparedness and microbial water safety research. He actively participates in international water microbiology research projects.

Taru Miller, MSc and PhD student, is currently working at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) as an expert in infectious disease control and preparedness. Her primary responsibilities include pathogen surveillance and outbreak investigation, with a specific focus on water- and foodborne pathogens. Previously, she worked as a researcher and research coordinator, focusing on intestinal pathogens and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in sub-Saharan Africa. Her PhD research focuses on the environmental surveillance of diarrheal pathogens and its implications for waterborne outbreak prevention in sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, she has been involved in multiple international projects and has a strong background in development cooperation sector.

The University of Helsinki awarded Haider Al-Hello a PhD in biochemistry in 2012. Since 2003, he has been employed by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), first as a researcher and subsequently as a senior researcher. He earned an MSc in Biomedical Immunology from the University of East London that same year. He has more than 20 years’ experience in surveillance on communicable diseases and outbreak investigations of intestinal virus infections in Finland. His special competence is in the molecular epidemiology of poliovirus, rotavirus, norovirus, and other enterovirus infections, as well as arboviruses in the Middle East. During his career, he has led several virus surveillance projects in Finland. Additionally, he has had impressive work experience in multi-national expert teams. He took part in joint external evaluations to Tajikistan and Montenegro in 2019 as a delegate (technical area lead). Since 2014, he has represented THL in the WHO (RRL and poliovirus containment meetings), EuroRotaNet, and NoroNet due to his strong networking abilities.

Kati Räisänen graduated M.Sc. from Health Biosciences (2009) and PhD from Medical Microbiology and Immunology (2023). Kati is a senior expert in antimicrobial resistance surveillance and molecular microbiology of different bacteria, especially carbapenemase-producing organisms. She is conducting antimicrobial resistance surveillance nationally, Finres-report yearly, and international reporting to ECDC: EARS-Net and WHO: GLASS. Since 2017 she has been secretary of National expert group of AMR/HAI (MTKA). Currently she works as a senior specialist in the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Expert Microbiology unit.

Senior researcher working in the Digital Systems group in the Technology division in NORCE (norceresearch.no). Have worked with research and software development within visualization and virtual reality, interactive visual analysis, and big data. In recent years, focus has been on data portal development for geolocated data for geohazards analysis. In that context, I have also been involved in efforts on improving the FAIR-ness of data and services.

Bérenger KABORE, Medical Doctor by background hold a master's degree in public health/disease control from the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp (Belgium) and a doctorate in public health from the Radboud University Nijmegen (Netherlands). He is currently a junior researcher at the Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé and deputy lead clinician at the Clinical Research Unit of Nanoro. In this position, he conducted several clinical trials (phase II-III), observational and interventional studies in the field of malaria, bacterial and viral infections and antimicrobial resistance. His research interest are infectious diseases including the interplay with non-communicable diseases, and AMR.

Dr Paulin K. Somda is a Medical Doctor by background and specialized in planning and management of health programs and services. He is currently the Scientific Director of the National Public Health Institute within the Burkina Faso Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene. For such, he is in charge of coordinating and monitoring health research, health expertise and the training of health human resources. As Coordinator of the national program to tackle non-communicable diseases (NCDs) at the Ministry of Health, he drew up the integrated strategic plan to combat NCDs 2016-2020. His knowledge of the health system and the experience acquired in his services at operational and decision-making levels, in particular in the fight against infectious diseases enable him to help Member States of the WHO African Region to reduce morbidity and mortality of these diseases, and to improve the health status of the African population through access to quality primary health care.

Dr Marc C. Tahita graduated in Pharmacy from the University of Ouagadougou and then obtained both his MSc and PhD from the University Nazi Boni (Burkina Faso) and University of Antwerp (Belgium) in 2008 and 2017 respectively. He spent three years working as an assistant microbiology lecturer and after as volunteer pharmacist with Pharmaciens Sans Frontières Comité International. He joined the Clinical Research Unit of Nanoro as Scientist and laboratory Director, where he developed a clinical lab capable of carrying out vaccine clinical studies at ICH-GCP standards (RTS'S and R21). He was designated Research Scientist in 2018 and has since managed multicenter studies and instructed numerous students (including pharmacists, doctors of medicine, and master's students). His current research focuses on infectious diseases in general, malaria (diagnosis, prophylaxis, and antimalarial resistance), AMR and One Health.

Bérenger KABORE, Medical Doctor by background hold a master's degree in public health/disease control from the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp (Belgium) and a doctorate in public health from the Radboud University Nijmegen (Netherlands). He is currently a junior researcher at the Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé and deputy lead clinician at the Clinical Research Unit of Nanoro. In this position, he conducted several clinical trials (phase II-III), observational and interventional studies in the field of malaria, bacterial and viral infections and antimicrobial resistance. His research interest are infectious diseases including the interplay with non-communicable diseases, and AMR.

Andrea Bagi, PhD is a Senior Researcher at NORCE, Marine Ecology group within the Ocean and Environment department. She has a background in Environmental Engineering and Molecular Microbial Ecology. She works with a variety of topics and projects, with the underlying theme being the use of molecular tools, mainly high-throughput sequencing approaches, such as Oxford Nanopore’s MinION technology. Her topics cover monitoring the impacts of different anthropogenic stressors on natural ecosystems, as well as understanding the roles of microbes in engineered ecosystems. Her earlier research has focused on microbial degradation of hydrocarbons in the marine environment and the use of microbes and their nucleic acid signatures as monitoring tools. Later she worked with microbial source tracking in a coastal marine site and wastewater-based epidemiology during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hello everyone! I'm Maria João, hailing from Portugal. Currently, I'm immersed in my doctoral journey at Lund University, specializing in the Division of Infectious Medicine. The focal point of my PhD revolves around exploring antibiotic resistance mediated by bacteriophages. My academic journey has been a fascinating exploration of environmental microbiology and the intricate relationship between bacteria and their surroundings. During my undergraduate studies in Biochemistry at the University of Coimbra (Portugal), I delved into the “determination of pigment production in different bacterial strains” and how bacterial pigments from bacteria present in mines are influenced by heavy metals, employing DNA and pigment extractions, chromatography, bacterial culture. Subsequently, in pursuit of my master's degree in Biotechnology at Lund University (Sweden), I furthered my research, earning insights into “How rainfall patterns change microbial induced carbon dynamics in soil”, and the “impacts of drying and rewetting events on soil microbial activity at different depths and different land managements”, studying fungal and bacterial growth measurements through incorporation of 14C and 3H, and using techniques such as gas chromatography and HPLC. My enthusiasm extends to the realm of the Sustainable Development Goals, and my involvement in projects like ODIN provides me with the incredible opportunity to collaborate with a multicultural team that shares this same passion.

Vivi Maketa holds a PhD in Health Sciences from the University of Antwerp (Belgium), after completing an MSc in One Health Molecular Biology at Sokoine University of Agriculture (Tanzania) and a specialization degree in tropical infectious diseases from the University of Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo). She has been appointed Professor at the University of Kinshasa, in the Department of Tropical Medicine, where she lectures in various biological sciences, supervises medical theses, and enhances the department's research capabilities, particularly in infectious and neglected tropical diseases. Her interests include ethics in medical research and the design, implementation, and analysis of research studies (epidemiology, drug and vaccine trials, tests/intervention/or project evaluation…).

Tam Tran, Ph.D. is currently working at NORCE in the Gene technology, environment and society group. Her background spans from synthetic microbiology to environmental surveillance and antimicrobial resistance research with a solid knowledge in molecular biology. She has been involved in several projects investigating the presence of antimicrobial resistance genes in various environmental/animal settings (wastewater, marine, dairy manure and chicken litter) and the mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer.  Besides her proficiency in wet lab skills, she is keen on learning some basic programming skills with R and Python languages. In this project, she will be working closely with Dr. Krolicka to develop an innovative mobile lab on wheels.

Hillary Sebukoto is a Medical Doctor working as a Research Assistant at the National Institute for Medical Research since the year 2020. He holds a degree of Doctor of Medicine from the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College and a Master's in Applied Epidemiology from Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences. Prior to his current role, he worked as a general medical practitioner at Tanga Regional Referral Hospital (year 2018 – 2020). Alongside his current role, he has been collaborating with the Ministry of Health (Tanzania) in conducting surveillance systems evaluation and outbreak investigation for different disease conditions.

Eric Lyimo is a Research Officer at the National Institute for Medical Research. He has a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Molecular Biology from the University of Dar es Salaam. He is currently finalising his PhD at the University of Copenhagen in infectious diseases. He has been involved in planning, managing, and conducting laboratory activities in the fields of immunology and molecular biology. His current research focuses on infectious diseases in general: immunology, diagnosis, AMR, bioinformatics analyses, and One Health. Within the ODIN consortium, Eric helps with data collection, sample collection, and laboratory experiments in the fields of genomics and bioinformatics in collaboration with local partners and ODIN consortium members. In addition to providing instruction and coordinating laboratory activities for Master of Science students specialising in bioinformatics, he supports the generation of workshop synopses and outcomes organised by NIMR.

Logistics, coordination, operation and maintenance of terrestrial and marine scientific equipment. Broad experience with planning and carrying out scientific field work, also under extreme conditions. Has knowledge and experience in experimental design and rigging of scientific experiments. Responsible for the day-to-day operation of the research facilities (including experimental hall for aquatic species experiments). Practical and technical assistance to researchers in projects both in the lab and in the field. Has approval for work with animals in laboratory experiments and is a member of the "animal welfare committee."

Dr. Dylan Shea is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Norwegian Research Centre (NORCE). Over the last 9 years, Dylan’s scientific work has focused on the application of environmental DNA methods to improve disease surveillance in the marine aquaculture industry and characterize the distribution of fish species in freshwater systems. Dr. Shea has participated in projects that have contributed to our understanding of the dynamics of pathogenic viruses, bacteria, and parasites in salmon aquaculture, while working to develop methods for molecular pathogen surveillance that can be employed on-site by aquaculture managers.

Elisa Salmivirta, M.Sc. in Cell and Molecular biology graduate in 2020 with expertise in molecular biology method development. She is currently working at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) as a researcher on water microbiology team. Previous work includes qPCR/PCR method development and optimization on nucleic acid extractions for microbial detection. Current research focus on developing new methods and incorporating NGS tools for pathogen detection.

Ilkka T. Miettinen, Title of Docent, chief researcher at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Finland. He is also a professor of practice at Aalto university, Helsinki. He has over 35-year research experience in water treatment technologies and water microbiology. The national and international research projects have focused e.g. on removal or inactivation of waterborne microbes, determination of microbial growth in drinking waters, water quality monitoring and detection of microbial contamination. He has participated implementation of Water Safety Planning in Finnish water works. He is also leading a national task group which is managing waterborne outbreak in Finland. The latest research activities focus on adaptation of expertise to research needs in industrial water systems and developing research co-operation at Kuopio campus.

Kristiina Valkama graduated with an M.Sc. in Environmental Science in 2022. She works as a researcher in the water microbiological laboratory at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare in Finland. She has expertise in water hygiene, especially fecal contamination of water sources, and water microbiological methods. Currently, she is particularly responsible for cultivation methods of intestinal microbes, among others, E. coli, intestinal enterococci, thermotolerant campylobacter and somatic coliphages.

Päivi Meriläinen, Ph.D., is a risk assessment expert at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland. She has 20 years of experience in health risk assessment, microbial water safety, quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA), health effects of climate change and adaptation to climate change. Dr. Meriläinen has developed microbial risk assessment models for drinking and bathing water and she has been in many national and international research project in water safety. Currently she is interested in combining the effects of climate change and waterborne health risks. She is involved in national level climate change adaptation work and has coordinated the climate change adaptation plan for the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. Currently she is also involved with work promoting sustainable health care in Finland.

Doctor Outi Nyholm (Doctor of Food Sciences) is senior researcher and public health microbiologist at Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare THL. She has 15 years of experience in laboratory-based surveillance of food and water borne bacterial pathogens and molecular epidemiology. Currently, she is responsible for Vibrio spp. methods. She also leads development projects related to laboratory’s technical infrastructure and bioinformatic pipelines. She is responsible for implementation of the new laboratory information management system in reference microbiology laboratories in THL.

Anni Vainio, Ph.D., is senior researcher and microbiologist at Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare THL. She has 20 years of experience in laboratory-based surveillance and outbreak investigations of different bacterial pathogens and molecular epidemiology. Currently, she is responsible for Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) of bacterial pathogens at THL laboratory. She is also working with food and water borne bacteria like Salmonella.

A Clinical Microbiologist and the Director of Tanzania National Public Health Laboratory with over 10 years of experience ranging from clinical practice, infectious disease research, program management and laboratory systems strengthening. She has consulted on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), Laboratory Policy and Strategic Plan Development, and Strengthening of Laboratory Systems where she worked with the WHO, Africa CDC, African Society for Laboratory Medicine, Ending Pandemics and SACIDS Foundation for One Health. She seats in national AMR Multisectoral Coordinating Committee, National AMR Technical Working Group and Quality Assurance Committee of the Private Health Laboratories Board. She is actively participating in regional and global engagements to strengthen antimicrobial stewardship programs, bacteriology and mycology diagnostic capacities. She has contributed to and co-authored more than 45 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Hypolite Muhindo Mavoko is a medical doctor, holding a specialization degree in tropical medicine at the University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN) and a PhD degree in medical sciences at the University of Antwerp, with special trainings on clinical research, epidemiology, statistics, project management, etc. He is currently a full professor, working at the Department of Tropical Medicine, at the University of Kinshasa. He has a broad experience in malaria research, including clinical trials, He is also involved in several research projects on emerging infectious diseases (Ebola, Mpox and Covid-19), including vaccine trials. He has good knowledge of the field due to his experience in implementing studies in several settings around DRC.

Patrick Mitashi is a physician with expertise in tropical medicine and infectious diseases. His career has been marked by significant contributions to biomedical research, clinical trials and health interventions in urban and rural settings. Patrick has extensive experience in a variety of fields, including vaccine trials and anthropological research. He has strong skills in the diagnosis and management of infectious diseases; he has been actively involved in clinical trials evaluating health interventions. Patrick has also contributed significantly to the launch and conduct of evaluation studies for the Ebola and Covid-19 vaccines, as well as research on zoonotic reservoirs, emerging pathogens and pathogen reservoirs. He has worked on anthropological studies and excels in teamwork, whether in urban or remote rural settings.

Melissa Kabena earned her bachelor's degree in medicine from the University of Kinshasa in 2019. She has been a research assistant in the Department of Tropical Medicine at the University of Kinshasa since July 2023. She completed training courses such as Management and Leadership, etc. Melissa has coordinated activities in several research projects at the Department of Tropical Medicine, including UltraPYRAPREG and Cov-Expert. Currently, she serves as the site-coordinator for the ODIN project, which focuses on clinical and environmental Surveillance Systems for Infectious Diseases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). She began this role in October 2023. As coordinator and manager, Melissa develops and oversees activity plans, assigning tasks to different work stations. She is responsible projects conduct oversight, reporting on project progress, organizing meetings, and conducting quality verifications to ensure the completeness of data entered by the Data Managers. Melissa's research interests include Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics.

Evodie Ngelesi is a medical doctor who graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Kinshasa. After several years of practicing clinical medicine, she pursued a specialization in infectious and parasitic diseases at the Department of Tropical Medicine. There, she works as a research assistant and serves as the speaker of the research assistants. In her role, she coordinates communication within the department and plans training programs for research assistants. She is trained in leadership and management, good clinical practices and has worked on various projects in the Department of Tropical Medicine, including the PYRAPREG project to evaluate the efficacy Pyronaridine-Artesunate in pregnant women. Currently, she is the regional coordinator for the Global Health Network within the ODIN project.

Joseph Mabi holds a bachelor's degree in Information and Communication Sciences, specializing in Organizational Communication, from the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences at the University of Kinshasa, earned in 2021. He has completed professional training in Data Management and Logistics since 2021. Currently, he works as a Data Manager and Logistics Specialist for health projects at the Department of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the University of Kinshasa. In his role, Joseph develops comprehensive data management plans, outlining data collection, entry, storage, protection, and sharing procedures. He clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of team members regarding data management. As a Logistics Specialist, Joseph coordinates and oversees logistical operations, planning the ordering, receipt, and distribution of materials and consumables at project sites. He also plans staff activities.

Yvette Mahenzi holds a degree in Business and Administrative Sciences. She began her professional career at the National Commission for Disarmament and Reintegration of Ex-Combatants. Thereafter she was employed at the International Bank for Africa in Congo for thirteen years holding various positions within the bank. In 2022, she joined the Department of Tropical Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Kinshasa, as Financial Administrator. She completed a Certified Public Accountant training program at the Permanent Accounting Council of Congo. Currently, she serves as the Deputy Financial Administrator for the ODIN project.

Suzana Tevuzula holds a Master's degree in Business Management and Law from the Higher Institute of Commerce, in partnership with HEC/Liège, and a Bachelor's degree in Law from the University of Kinshasa. She also has training in human resource management. Her experience in the Department of Tropical Medicine has equipped her with strong administrative skills. Suzana is an administrator on the ODIN project and is responsible for tasks such as contract management for staff and timesheet.

Palpouguini Lompo is microbiologist by background. He holds a Bachelor in biomedical science, a Bachelor in microbiology and Master in microbial et cellular biotechnology at university of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in 2004, 2006 and 2014, respectively. He has been awarded a PhD in microbiology-Immunology at the faculty of medicine of Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium in 2023, after awarding a scholarship from the Institut of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp (ITM). His PhD work focused on antimicrobial resistance in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in Infection Prevention and Control. Palpouguini Lompo has been working as clinical microbiologist since 2004. He worked in microbiology laboratory of one of the biggest teaching tertiary care hospitals in Ouagadougou before joining the Clinical Research Unit of Nanoro (CRUN). At CRUN, Mr. Lompo participated to setup a microbiology laboratory in a remote area in Nanoro in 2008. He acquired experience in conducting clinical trials according to international standards. Furthermore, he has been involved in a large scale of microbiology studies playing a pivotal role as microbiologist and clinical biology laboratory manager. He uses his solid experience in good clinical practices (GCP) and good clinical laboratory practices (GCLP), and further ISO 15189 to support training of new scientists and laboratory technicians. He supports the quality system of CRUN laboratory toward to the accreditation playing the role of quality assurance manager. For further detail, please click on https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7547-2892.

Sibidou YOUGBARE started his professional career as biomedical technologist in 2007 and worked in hospital laboratories in different fields like Microbiology, Hematology, Blood transfusion, Parasitology, Biochemistry, and Immunology until 2015. After completed his Master’s degree in Bacteriology-Virology in 2014, he has joined Clinical Research Unit of Nanoro (CRUN) (Burkina Faso) in 2015, where he worked as Microbiologist and laboratory supervisor.  During this period, he has been participated to several microbiology studies. After awarding the scholarship of International Ph.D Program in Biomedical Engineering, from Taipei Medical University (Taiwan) in 2018, he joined the College of Biomedical Engineering. His Ph.D. research has focused on plasmonic nanomaterials as antimicrobials. He completed his Ph.D. in 2021 and has backed to his home institute where he is working as Microbiologist. His researches are focused on the surveillance of antimicrobial resistance (RAM) and the development of new technology or methods such as phototherapy for combating superbugs.

Zakaria is a biomedical scientist, he started his professional career in 2009 at CRUN after his bachelor's degree in medical biology. from 2009 to 2014 he participated in several clinical trials conducted at CRUN as a senior medical biology technician. in 2014, he joined the research institute of applied sciences and technologies as a senior biology technician. After obtaining his master's degree in bacteriology and virology in 2016, he was promoted to the rank of research engineer. Since 2017 Mr. Zakaria GARBA joined CRUN again and works as a microbiologist. He is involved in several studies on antimicrobial resistance and clinical trials on going at CRUN. in 2019, he was involved as a PhD student in the Antimicrobial Resistant in West Africa (AMRIWA) study conducted in three countries in West Africa (Burkina Faso, Benin and Mali) and Finland. Mr. Zakaria GARBA’ thesis activities focused on the phenotypic and genotype characterization of E. coli and Klebsiella spp. isolated from clinical samples and hospital wastewater in Burkina Faso.