Tiemele L.S Amoikon is an African fellow from Côte d'Ivoire who holds a PhD in Microbiology and Food Biotechnology and an MSc in Microbiology and Molecular Biology from the University Nangui Abrogoua in Abidjan (Ivory Coast). Tiemele has worked at the University Nangui Abrogoua as an instructor of practical work in general microbiology and molecular biology. His research interests are in microbial ecology and emerging pathogens that are threats to public health. He is also interested in the use of molecular (basic detection and typing), biochemical and chemical (methods associated with mass spectrometry) tools. Tiemele joined the MEVacP research team as a research assistant and has been responsible for contributing towards the development of new diagnostic tools for meningitis.
The MEVacP project is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care using UK Aid funding and is managed by NIHR. This funding wasawarded to both Martin Maiden and Angela Brueggemann's groups, and aims to improve our understanding of bacterial meningitis in Africa.
Key aspirations of this project include:
i) Promoting awareness of meningitis,
ii) Improving surveillance and our understanding of the epidemiology of meningitis and,
Our research team is composed of a multidisciplinary group of individuals from the UK and various countries of Africa: scientists, medical Doctors, social scientists and public health specialists.
This research was funded by the Department of Health and Social Care as part of the UK Vaccine Network (UKVN), a UK Aid programme to develop vaccines for diseases with epidemic potential in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). This project is managed by NIHR
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Saving lives with Meningitis research
Meningitis is a killer disease which is particularly dangerous for
young children. It can be caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi.
The good news is that we can reduce the risk of illness
through the use of vaccines.
Read more about the work we are doing in Africa and how you
can play a role in stopping meningitis.
A link to the recording on the PubMLST Youtube channel can be found here
Campylobacter is the most common cause of bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide, but it can be difficult to trace the source of human infection since it can be isolated from many other sources, including livestock, wild animals, food and water. The PubMLST Campylobacter database is central to our research, using a genomic approach to improve our knowledge of Campylobacter, an elusive zoonotic pathogen. The database stores essential metadata and genotyping information stored for more than 100,000 Campylobacter isolates from across the globe, with more than half of these isolates having whole genome data. The database also enables easy use of many tools and visualisation methods needed to further analyse the data.
The online event highlighted research into the epidemiology of this organism, along with the benefits of using the PubMLST database. Internationally recognised researchers will give short talks, to include topics such the epidemiology of Campylobacter in wild birds, chickens, and human disease, MLST and core genome MLST (cgMLST).
This event was held in memory of our dear friend and colleague Dr Alison Cody (Ali) who contributed so much to Campylobacter genomic research, before she sadly passed away in 2020.
Speakers:
Dr Frances Colles, University of Oxford, UK. Professor Sam Sheppard, University of Bath, UK. Dr Catherine Ragimbeau, Laboratoire National de Santé, Luxembourg. Dr Rick Meinersmann and Dr Mark Berrang, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Professor Noel McCarthy, University of Warwick, UK. Professor Patrick Biggs, Massey University, NZ.
Adeniyi Aderoba graduated in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Benin, Nigeria and has an MSc. in International Health and Tropical Medicine from the University of Oxford. Following postgraduate fellowships at the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria and the West African College of Surgeons, Adeniyi worked with the regional government in Nigeria leading a clinical department and has extensive experience conducting collaborative research and implementing public health projects. He was a 2017-18 Hubert Humphrey Fellow in Public Health Policy and Management at the Rollins School of Public health, Emory University; and his interest include health systems strengthening and policy research, especially in reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health. A member of the MeVAcP team in the Maiden Lab from 2019-20, Adeniyi focused on the molecular epidemiology of Group B Streptococcus, which causes infectious morbidities in pregnant women and newborn.
Naima Nasir is from Nigeria. She has a background in Pharmacy and an MSc in International Health and Tropical Medicine from the University of Oxford. She has over eight years of experience working with public health programs providing treatment and support to people living with HIV/AIDs, TB and Malaria, as well as public health research.
As a MeVacP research fellow, she focused on the characterisation of the diversity of the capsule locus in Streptococcus agalactiae (Group Strep B, GBS), a significant cause of meningitis in infants and an important pathogen in agriculture. She was also involved in a global literature review of GBS whole genome sequence (WGS) data and contributed to the curation of GBS WGS on the PubMLST website.
Her research interests are in global health systems and policy research, with a focus on maternal, newborn and child health. She currently serves as Training Coordinator for the Oxford COVID-19 International Modelling Consortium (CoMo).
Mingliang Chen, born in 1983, Shanghai, China. I acquired my degrees of B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in Fudan University, specialising in Pathogenic Biology. I have been working in Department of Microbiology in Shanghai CDC since 2007 and became an associate senior technician in 2017. My work is to perform laboratory surveillance of respiratory pathogenic bacteria, such as Meningococcus, Streptococcus, and Legionella, focused on molecular typing and antibiotic resistance. I have studied in Maiden Lab from March to December of 2017, learning skills of analyzing meningococcal genomes.
Research interests
These include clonal dissemination and origin of quinolone-resistance among meningococci, evolution of hyperinvasive meningococcal lineages, coverage of serogroup B vaccines towards Chinese meningococci, and molecular epidemiological surveillance of group A Streptococcus in China.
Shen Y, Chen ML*. Prevalence, sequence type, and quinolone resistance of Neisseria lactamica carried in children younger than 15 years in Shanghai, China. J Infect, 2020, 80(1): 61-68 (IF=4.842)
Chen ML#, Cai J#, Davies M.R., Li Y, Zhang C, Yao W, Kong D, Pana H, Zhang X, Chen M*, Zeng M*. Increase of emm1 isolates among group A Streptococcus strains causing scarlet fever in Shanghai, China. Int J Infect Dis 2020, 98:305-314 (IF=3.202)
Chen ML*, Rodrigues CMC, Harrison OB, Zhang C, Tan T, Chen J, Zhang X, Chen M*, Maiden MCJ*. Invasive meningococcal disease in Shanghai, China from 1950 to 2016: implications for serogroup B vaccine implementation. Scientific Reports 2018, 8(1):12334 (IF=4.011)
Shen Y#, Cai J#, Davies M.R., Zhang C, Gao K, Qiao D, Jiang H, Yao W, Li Y, Zeng M*, Chen ML*. Identification and characterization of fluoroquinolone non-susceptible Streptococcus pyogenes clones harboring tetracycline and macrolide resistance in Shanghai, China. Frontiers in Microbiology 2018, 9:542 (IF=4.259)
Chen ML#, Wang W#, Tu L, Zheng Y, Pan H, Wang G, Chen Y, Zhang X, Zhu L, Chen J*, Chen M*. An emm5 Group A Streptococcal Outbreak Among Workers in a Factory Manufacturing Telephone Accessories. Frontiers in Microbiology 2017, 8:1156. (IF=4.019)
Jiang H#, Chen ML#, Li T, Liu H, Gong Y, Li M. Molecular Characterization of Streptococcus agalactiae Causing Community- and Hospital-Acquired Infections in Shanghai, China. Frontiers in Microbiology. 2016, 7: 1308 (IF=4.076)
Chen M#, Yao W#, Wang X, Li Y, Wang G, Zhang X, Pan H, Hu J*, Zeng M*. Outbreak of Scarlet Fever Associated with emm12 Type Group A Streptococcus in 2011 in Shanghai, China. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2012, 31(9): e158-162. (IF=3.569)
Asmaa is a paediatric doctor by training, who is currently working at Royal Free NHS Foundation Trust, UK. She practiced on different healthcare systems mainly on Egypt, Oman and the UK. She holds a Bachelor in Medicine and Surgery (MBBCh) from Zagazig University, Egypt, an MSc of International Health and Tropical Medicine (MSc IHTM) and Master of Public Policy (MPP) from Oxford University, and a Diploma of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (DTMH) from the Royal College of Physicians, London. Asmaa’s main interests are the management of Tropical diseases, the uprising Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and improving health care systems on developing countries through better health policies. She worked in different research units, including Oxford University Clinical Unit (OUCRU), Hanoi, Vietnam and the Oxford Health Systems Research Collaboration (OHSCAR), Oxford, UK.
Asmaa has joined the Maiden lab as a research fellow contributing to Molecular Epidemiology of Vaccination Policy (MEVacP) Project. Her role was collecting and compiling data from different databases; including: WHO and MenAfriNet; and governmental websites regarding the prevalence of meningitis and the vaccination policies across Africa with special interest on the African meningitis belt. The target was to create event-based internet surveillance tools where diverse sources of public information ranging from news articles, messages on forums, blogs, and social media can be used by the community to rapidly communicate the possibility of meningitis cases, in turn facilitating a more targeted and rapid response to the outbreak in the African Meningitis Belt.
Grace Mzumara is a Malawian Medical Doctor. She Graduated from the University of Oxford with an MSc in International Health and Tropical Medicine in 2019 as a Weidenfeld and Hoffmann Scholar. She joined the Molecular Epidemiology for Vaccination Policy project as an intern in September 2019. During the MEVacP Project, Grace worked on curating the Haemophilus influenzae genome database and studied the genetic epidemiology of Haemophilus influenzae using the Public Databases for Molecular Typing and Microbial genome diversity (PubMLST). She is now a pre-PhD Intern with the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome trust, Clinical research programme, child health research group where she is researching antimicrobial stewardship and health policies in Malawi. Her interests are in health policies and infectious diseases.
