Dr Isabella Oyier gets MCDC Initiative Awards

Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Programme, Dr Isabella Oyier, has been awarded the Malaria Capacity Development Consortium (MCDC) initiative Awards. These initiative awards are designed to support the awardees to provide added value to an existing research project and/ or provide the background information that will help in the formulation of a new research project.

On receiving the award, Isabella said “I am very excited to have received the award as it allows to me conduct a research project at the University and to continue to develop my research career”

Dr Oyier, who is also a visiting lecturer at the Centre for Biotechnology and Bioinformatics (CEBIB), intends to use her award to pursue a project on Molecular genotyping of Plasmodium species erythrocyte receptors   that will explore the genetic variation the Malaria parasites’ experience during their invasion of red blood cells. Dr Oyier further hopes to establish a Malaria Research Group at the University of Nairobi and involve three MSc students in this project.   “I also intend to use the results to inform any larger studies for my future research on the parasite's capability to invade Red Blood Cells” she added.

The Malaria Capacity Development Consortium (MCDC) is supported by the Wellcome Trust and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and is designed to help able and motivated African scientists undertake high-quality research that will enhance the research capacity of their home institutions.