Professor Khuzwayo Chidiwa Jere of the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Research Programme (MLW) has been awarded a prestigious National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Global Research Professorships. Funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), the NIHR Global Health Research Professorship scheme supports outstanding researchers to lead ambitious programmes of applied health research and build long-term research leadership and capacity within institutions in the regions where they work.

In this Global Health Research Professorship, Professor Jere who is also an academic at the University of Liverpool, will lead research to understand the causes of diarrhea in adults, identify immune markers for effective vaccination, and evaluate new and existing enteric (gut) vaccines. This work will include capacity building, policy advocacy, and community engagement to inform better treatments, reduce antimicrobial resistance, and accelerate vaccine development.

Professor Khuzwayo Chidiwa Jere said: “Diarrhea caused by rotavirus and Shigella is responsible for over 200,000 child deaths annually, mostly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Limited diarrhea diagnostics in LMICs lead to the overuse of antibiotics and rising antimicrobial resistance. Despite existing vaccines, rotavirus vaccines underperform in LMICs, and no Shigella vaccine is licensed. I hope that my work will help to inform better treatments, reduce antimicrobial resistance, and accelerate vaccine development.”

Reacting to the news Professor Henry Mwandumba, Director of the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Research Programme said “The research that this NIHR Global Health Fellowship will enable is important to health and wellbeing in Malawi. It has the potential to greatly reduce disease burden and respond to antimicrobial resistance which is a growing problem. MLW is immensely proud of Professor Jere and all collaborators on this research.”

Congratulations to Professor Khuzwayo Chidiwa Jere!

(article first published by University of Liverpool Press Office)