Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Programme

Researcher

Chifundo Salifu

Background: Chifundo has been with Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust Clinical research programme (MLW) since 2018. She is affiliated to the Virology, Pathogen Biology and Bacterial Drug Resistant Infections Research groups. Currently, she is working as laboratory technologist with TENTACLE study which looks at the Epidemiology of Ecoli and non Typhoidal Salmonella at a community level in Malawi. Before joining TENTACLE, she worked as an intern for MORDOR (Mortality Reduction after Oral azithromycin) clinical trial project based at College of Medicine (COM) and MLW, which evaluated the effect of mass drug administration with the broad-spectrum antibiotic azithromycin on childhood mortality and morbidity in three sites in sub-Saharan Africa.

Education background: Chifundo is pursuing an Mphil in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Malawi, COM under the supervision of Dr Chilungamo Chingwanda, Dr Khuzwayo Jere and Dr Arox Kamng’ona. Her research project aims at determining the antimicrobial activities of selected local medicinal herbs against Streptococcus pneumoniae. She holds an upper second class BSc Hons in Medical Laboratory Sciences.

Long term goals: Chifundo plans to further her career by pursuing a PhD in the next two years and thereafter to develop into an independent researcher in infectious diseases, looking at molecular and immunological aspect of such infections.