Sylvia Wanzala: September - December 2010

My stay in Ireland was a wonderfully unique experience especially given the amazing seasonal changes as well as the various activities that I was able to do. I was met by Doireann McKenzie at Carton Square after the drive from Dublin airport. I was to meet the rest of the CDPC team during the next few weeks that followed. What struck me most initially was the amazingly radiant colours of the tree foliage; oranges, yellows and reds! This was especially so at the Southern campus with its beautiful old buildings some of which had brilliant creepers growing on them! 

The lovely colours of the leaves! 

I trained in three labs during my stay in Ireland and I had a most fruitful time. The first lab I trained in was the Host-Pathogen lab in the Institute of Immunology at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. Under the guidance of Dr. Martina Schroeder, I was able learn a variety of protein techniques that I hadn’t done before. I transfected mammalian cells and learned how to take care of them in addition to carrying out experiments with them like reporter assays, protein expression, western blots as well as ELISAs. At other times, I would go to Dr Bernard Mahon’s lab to learn some ELISA techniques in addition to attending lectures with the MSc Imunology and Global health students as well as Bioinformatics classes.

 

 My timetable was quite full but I also managed to visit some second-level schools in Portlaoise, Carndonagh, Co. Donegal and Carlow with Joseph Clowry (CDPC Education Officer) as well as Patsy Toland (Self Help Africa) together with fellow trainees from Uganda, Madina and Phoebe,  and Stephen from Kenya. At these schools we helped facilitate workshops on HIV/AIDS to the young people. It was interesting to hear the various myths they believed about this disease like getting HIV from mosquitos, something even a primary school student in Uganda cannot say. It made me realize that probably the low HIV infection rate had sort of made the Irish health sector complacent in this critical area of sex education with teenagers who are at the experimental stages of their lives. 

 

Outside a school in Trim with Phoebe

After facilitating workshops with three different schools in Portloaise

The trip to Donegal was very interesting with picturesque scenes of the countryside. We drove past huge farms dotted with fat, wooly sheep and occasionally horses and cattle! I was on the lookout for animals given my veterinary background. As we made our way to Donegal, Patsy and Joe relayed to us the stormy historical relationship of the republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom and how Northern Ireland has neighborhoods split along religious lines, with Catholics on one side and Protestants on the other! It was eye-opening to see first-hand how faith could cause such great rifts in a nation.

 

 

 Scenes from Derry or Londonderry!

While in Donegal, we met with more second-level students as well as their teachers. These schools had partnered with schools in other parts of the world and I was glad to be able to meet a school that was partnering with Watoto Ministries in Uganda. They were so excited as they spoke of the various activities they planned to do with their partner schools.

The biting cold at the beach in Donegal, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean

The day we travelled back to Maynooth from Donegal spelt the last of the previously ‘mild’ Irish weather: we entered what the news reporters kept referring to as the ‘cold snap’! It was more than a snap to me! We arrived back from Donegal on a Thursday and that Saturday we woke to find everything as far as the eye could see covered in white! It had snowed the previous night and yes, it was exciting to see the snow!

      Scenes outside our window on Day One of the snow!

 What I hadn’t bargained for though, was the snow bringing everything to a grinding halt especially the transportation system. By the time it begun snowing, I had begun travelling to the Institute of Molecular Medicine, St James’s Hospital in Dublin, to carry out some work on the Immunology of Tuberculosis from Dr Joe Keanne’s lab. Seonadh O’leary, was great and she made my time in the TB lab a pleasure. The weather disruptions though contributed to my missing some days because there were times when the buses were no longer travelling to some routes while the trains were still running but with delays and over-crowding. As the cold weather continued we were advised by the weather people to remain indoors and only travel when it was absolutely necessary. But despite all that I was still able to attend a Computational Biology and Innovation PhD symposium held at University College Dublin, another beautiful campus as well as the Irish Forum for Global Health, Biennial Conference where we also marked World Aids day.

Some of the CDPC trainees together with Dr Noel Murphy (extreme left) and Dr Martina Schroeder (extreme right) and participants of the Irish Biennial Global Forum.

Before the weather changed so suddenly I was able to learn a bit of Irish history through a visit to several museums: the Book of Kells Museum at Trinity College Dublin, The Kilmainhan Gaol Museum as well as the Museum of Modern Art! There was so much to learn about Ireland and its people. It was a great experience and I really thank Martina for taking her time to show us round.

 All in all my stay in Ireland was a unique experience that will forever be imprinted on my mind: the lovely country, great training and most importantly the people at CDPC who made my stay so worthwhile. Thank you CDPC for making all this possible.

Sarah Niulikha (April - July 2010)

I did have a wonderful experience in the Department of immunology while working with Dr. Martina Schroeder. I moved to the Lab from the education outreach programme during the month of June and what I learnt was far much greater than the period of time that I spend there. While in the Lab, I was introduced to a number of immunological techniques especially the transfection of mammalian cells that further exposed me to techniques like tissue culture, gel electrophoresis and western blotting. It was a great experience for me getting back to Laboratory work after a very long period of time off bench work and some of the techniques appeared very new and tricky. Thanks to Martina and her team of PhD students who dedicated their time in to helping me learn and do what I would possibly have not managed to do on my own. I did some calcium chloride mediated transfection of Hek 293t cells. The first attempt was a disaster but I slowly learnt to do a number of things that I did not get right on the very first attempt and later did yet another transfection whose results were quite promising.  This I would say was my most exciting experience in the Lab ever since I last finished my internship after my bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology. The techniques I was exposed to while working with Dr Martina are very essential and I look forward to using them at some point in my own Msc project this September.

 Other than working in the Lab during the month of June, I also committed myself to a number of activities on the education outreach programme. On the 11^th of June for instance, I traveled to Palmerstown together with Patsy Tolland of Self Help Africa where I met and talked to very lovely young Irish Kids at St Mary Sch. These young people were very interesting to talk to and I was puzzled by their relentless efforts in to the promotion of better economic standards in Malawi.

Myself with my young friends in Palmerstown.

 As young as about 9 years, these kids had raised money through the sale of their toys and old items for the purchase of a pump that could be used for both irrigation and the supply of clean water for domestic use in Malawi. This was a good workshop that ended in good time which in turn gave me an ample opportunity to resume my schedule in the Lab later in the afternoon.  I also attended the Sentinus (UK) Young scientist showcase in Belfast on the 21^st of June.

Myself at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast during the Sentinus (UK) young scientist showcase.

 This was yet another interesting experience where I witnessed Thomas Dunne earn a prize from the University of Ulster in ICT for his project on the use of computer software in the analysis of the Malaria Genome. Later the same week, I was invited to Longford where I visited Ibotz Premises together with Joe Clowry. It was such a delight for me to be down at the premises of this company and yet again I was given a number of Labquest application devices for me to take with to Africa.

This was all courtesy of Padraig Kenny and Idel MulhiVill who received us at Ibotz. My schedule with Dr Martina in the Lab was well planned as I had something to do all of my days in the Lab and there was not a single day that I stayed idle. By the time I was leaving the Lab, I had acquired lots of skills in the transfection of mammalian cells by calcium chloride mediated method. On a number of occasions I did also get an exposure to other techniques used by Martina’s team of PhD students like Ruth who was working on cells meant to be analyzed by confocal microscopy. It was sad indeed for my time of departure to have come at a time when I was really enjoying every bit of my experience on the CDPC training Programme. My special gratitude to Joe Clowry, Martina Schroeder, Noel Murphy, Patsy Tolland and Hayley Coristine alongside the entire CDPC team for making my training with the CDPC a great experience whose impact on my career shall live forever. I also would like to thank Mr. Sylvester McVoey a former teacher of the Colaiste Lorcain School for his dedicated service towards introducing me to the Labquest and the entire experience on the science exhibitions and projects. My special gratitude also goes to Vincent English, Idel Mulhivill and Padraig Kenny of Vernier Europe for their kindness and all that I received from them. I Left Kenya for Ireland with three desires in mind including getting an exposure on the communication of science concepts to young people, learning immunological techniques in the Lab and getting to know Ireland and the Irish way of life and frankly speaking, I earned all of them on my training with the CDPC and many more experiences that were equally interesting. Long Live CDPC and God Bless Ireland and its People.

Judy Orikiiriza Tatwangire (September - December 2009)

Judy currently works at Kanombe Military Hospital in Rwanda, where she holds the position of Head of Department of Pediatrics and Child Health.  Judy’s experience ranges from clinical research to academia; her initial interest in infectious diseases and immunology led to her pursuing her Master of Medicine (Pediatrics) degree at Makerere University Medical School in Kampala, Uganda.

Judy hopes to build a career in Infectious Diseases and Immunology where she will focus on the aspect of the disease burden on children in the tropics. Judy’s training in Ireland aims to help her learn various research techniques related to genetic and molecular immunological laboratory assays and their procedures. She hopes to use this knowledge to teach graduate and exchange students in medicine and to eventually contribute to a growing body of research both at the local and international level.

 The CDPC hosts Judy between September and December 2009. 

Neema Ndoboka (September - December 2009)

Neema obtained her Advanced Diploma in Community Development at Tengeru Community Development Training Institute in the Arusha Region in Tanzania. Between 1997 and 2006, she worked with the Small Industries Organizations (SIDO) and the Tanzania Family Planning Association (UMATI) as well as with the Tanzania Red Cross Society as a District Coach. Neema also worked as a Regional Project Officer for a HIV-prevention project funded by the US President Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). More recently, Neema obtained her Masters of Science Degree in Community Economic Development, provided by the Southern New Hampshire University of the United States of America in collaboration with the Open University of Dar-es-Salaam. While in Ireland, Neema will be given training in social research that will aid her with her current work, which focuses on data collection of disadvantaged groups in the community and advising the government on the facilitation of the development of these groups. Neema’s training will be particularly focused on research design, data collection, organization, analysis and presentation.

The CDPC hosts Neema between September and December 2009.

James Wainaina (August - November 2009)

James is an M.Sc. student in the Institute of Biotechnology Research at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Nairobi, Kenya, where he is currently undertaking a research project under the supervision of Dr. John Waitumbi at KEMRI/Walter Reed Project. Prior to undertaking his M.Sc., James obtained his B.Sc. in Biochemistry where he also focused on the area of molecular biology. James is currently a Graduate Scholar at KEMRI/USAMRU, where he has worked since 2007.

James’s training with the CDPC is focused on broadening his research capacity in molecular biology in order to aid him to pass on his knowledge to others at KEMRI/USAMRU while also giving him core knowledge which he can apply to his M.Sc. training and future Ph.D studies. 

The CDPC hosted James between August and November 2009. 

Mary Rwegasira (July - October 2009)

Mary was trained in clinical medicine where she obtained her diploma and later worked as a clinical officer with the Tanzanian government. Subsequently, Mary spent time working worked for organizations including the Tanzania Red Cross Society and a national family-planning NGO called UMATI. She is currently working at Concern Worldwide in Tanzania. Mary’s areas of specialization include reproductive health, adolescent sexual reproductive health, STIs & HIV/ AIDS and gender. While in Ireland, Mary will be trained in social science research design, data analysis and qualitative and quantitative research methods. Her training will aid her both with her immediate goal of completing a research paper necessary for the achievement of her Bachelor of Arts in Social Work, which she is completing through Open University (Dar-es-Salaam), and will also help her in her work with Concern Tanzania in the longer term.

The CDPC hosted Mary between July and October 2009.
 

Anderson Wambugu (January - May 2009)

Anderson WambuguAnderson Wambugu obtained his MSc in Biotechnology at Kenyatta University, after having completing his undergraduate studies at Kenya Polytechnic.

Anderson is currently employed at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) in Kabete, Kenya, where he works to improve the livestock industry in the region through development of vaccines and diagnostics of diseases of economic importance. These diseases include heart water, CCPP, avian flu, Rift Valley fever and CBPP. He has also worked as the only biological scientific research associate with Washington State University for nine years, in their Small Ruminant Collaborative Research Support Programme (SR-CRSP) based in Kenya and has vast knowledge of hybridoma technology.

Anderson is also involved in recombinant DNA work for the expression of possible diagnostic reagents and components. As much of his work involves proteomics and molecular biology techniques, Anderson’s training with the CDPC will cover aspects of immunochemistry, advanced molecular biology and proteomics (including cloning and expression work). He will train with the Consortium from January to May 2009.

Michael Kibe (January - May 2009)

Michael Kibe is a lecturer in the Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine at the University of Nairobi, where he teaches undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Dr Michael KibeBiochemistry and Molecular Biology. Michael obtained his Ph.D from Brunel University in Middlesex, U.K., after having completed a Masters at the University of London and an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry/Botany at the University of Nairobi.

Michael has published widely and has been awarded numerous post-doctoral fellowships in Japan (Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine), the United States (The Albert Enstein College of Medicine, New York), Kenya (Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology) and France (Centre Natonal de la Recherche Scientifique and Universite des Science et Technologies de Lille).

Michael’s research interests are in infectious diseases focusing on diagnostics, vaccines, differential gene expression, multidrug resistance, data mining and functional genomics in intracellular protozoan parasites such as Toxoplasma gondii and Theileria parva. He has recently been researching plant bioactive compounds for treatment of drug resistant bacteria and parasite isolates.

Michael will train with the CDPC from January to May 2009.

Idda Mosha (October - December 2008)

Idda Mosha is a Medical Sociologist from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. She obtained her BA (Sociology) from the University of Dar es Salaam where she

Idda Mosha

researched the attitudes of youths on condom as a preventive measure against HIV/AIDS in Moshi rural district.

Idda obtained her MA (Sociology) from the University of Dar es Salaam in 2005, where she completed her dissertation on reflections on condom use among adults, a case study of the police officers cohort in Dar es Salaam.

Since 2007, Idda has been working as an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Behavioural Sciences, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS).

During her training period in Ireland, Idda studied at Trinity College Dublin, where she learned took classes in qualitative and quantitative research methods and statistics. In particular, she learned about survey methods, sampling techniques, data summarization and presentation, probability and sampling, interpreting data using SPSS, correlation and regression and inferential statistics and continuous data.

While in Ireland, Idda learned that she had been successful in her application for a Ph.D in Medical Sociology at the University of Radboud Nijmegen in the Netherlands, and began research there in January 2009.

Kalule John Bosco (August - November 2008)

Kalule has been involved in teaching, research, and community outreach as a Makerere University academic member of staff since February 2007. He is currently pursuing a Master’s of Dr Kalule John BoscoMedicine degree in Microbiology at Makerere University's Medical School in Kampala and will begin research in Immunology of neglected diseases in Uganda in 2009. In May 2007, he was trained in management of Avian Influenza by the National Task Force on Avian Influenza.

As part of his duties at the university, he teaches Immunology to undergraduate students and is also part of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Gender Committee.

During Kalule's first degree, he carried out research aimed at livelihood enhancement of dwellers of peri-urban Kampala and the evaluation of selected management parameters affecting small scale commercial poultry farmers; and during this research he interfaced extensively with peri-urban low income earners.

While in Ireland, Kalule trained in the Immunology laboratories at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, and given training in the following techniques:

• Cell culture
• PCR
• Plasmid cloning
• Water microbiology
• Food microbiology
• ELISA
• H and E staining
• Flow cytometry
• PCNA staining
• Agarose gel electrophoresis
• RFLP
• Clinical microbiology

Kalule was also heavily involved in the CDPC Education Outreach lecture series, where he toured the country with the CDPC's Education Officer Joe Clowry, giving presentations to second-level students on HIV/AIDS and other diseases of poverty.

Kalule spent a week training in University Hospital Galway, where he was given training in salmonella serotyping, phage typing, pulse field gel electrophoresis and public health microbiology. During his time off, Kalule visited Dublin and spent a weekend in Southampton, England, where he visited family friends.

Brenda Nabitula (July - October 2008)

Brenda is 31 years old and has trained professionally as a medical doctor. Her research interests include, in particular, infectious disease, anDr Brenda Nabitulad she is currently pursuing immunology as method in which to study this. Brenda is also interested in teaching and academia, and hopes to be a professor one day. While she hasn’t yet undertaken any major research, she hopes to launch into it upon completion of her MMed. Brenda’s other interests include reading; in particular, cooking, art and travel.

Brenda trained with the CDPC from July to October 2008. During her time in Ireland, she worked in Immunology labs in the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, learning molecular techniques including:

• PCR
• Nucleic acid isolation
• Tissue culture
• Isolation of PBMCs
• HLA typing
• Electrophoresis
• Immunoassays using ELISA

Brenda spent much time lecturing on the CDPC's Education Outreach lecture series, where she toured the country with CDPC Education Officer Joe Clowry, giving presentations to second-level studentson HIV/AIDS and other diseases of poverty.

Brenda also spent time training at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, where she learned techniques including immunofluoresence, radioimmunodiffusion and sero HLA typing. During her free time, Brenda spent time in Cork and Dublin, not forgetting to visit the Guinness Brewery before she left!