Mentoring fellowships for women in low-and-middle income countries awarded

08 Mar 2021

On International Women’s Day 2021, the IVVN is delighted to announce that we have awarded research funding to six women from low-and-middle income countries (LMICs) as part of a fellowship programme jointly funded by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.” The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of vaccination and the need for continued development of vaccines for livestock and zoonotic diseases. However, women continue to be underrepresented in agricultural research and in leadership positions, particularly in LMICs.

To contribute to efforts to address this issue, the IVVN in collaboration with IDRC, have developed a fellowship programme to support women postdoctoral scientists working at research organisations in LMICs. The programme provides funding for researchers to work on a defined piece of research addressing a key bottleneck preventing the development of vaccines. Mentoring is a key component of the fellowship programme and fellowship awardees will be mentored by a local and international mentor. Fellowships will support the awardee’s professional development, build research capacity within the awardee's research organisation and accelerate the development of vaccines for livestock and zoonotic diseases.

Funding has been awarded to six awardees based in Brazil, Egypt, India, Kenya and South Africa and fellowship projects focus on a variety of pathogens including coronaviruses, tilapia lake virus, Newcastle disease virus, Salmonella enterica, Streptococcus agalactiae, Staphylococcus aureus and Theileria annulata.

Many congratulations to all fellowship awardees!

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The six fellowship awardees

Portrait of Mercy Yvonne Akinyi

Dr Mercy Yvonne Akinyi

Project: Identification and characterization of circulating coronaviruses and host receptor diversity in non-human primates

"The IVVN fellowship provides an opportunity for me to expand my research capacity and expertise in zoonoses surveillance."
Portrait of Amany Hassan

Dr Amany Hassan

Project: Use of immunopeptidomics to inform development of the next generation of tropical theileriosis vaccines

"Through this Fellowship, I will immerse myself in science and pursue new knowledge to achieve my ambition to be a successful female researcher and role model for my students and colleagues in Egypt."
Portrait of Sreeja Lakshmi

Dr Sreeja Lakshmi

Project: Development of a nanoparticle Tilapia Lake Virus (TiLV) vaccine for tilapia aquaculture in India

"This fellowship is an outstanding opportunity for me to attain new international research network that paves towards potential research collaborations that addresses global issues."

Dr Angela Makumi

Project: Surveying Salmonella antigens for use in a bacteriophage-based vaccine enabling homologous and heterologous protection and colonization-inhibition effect in poultry

"This fellowship presents a good opportunity for me to receive training on multivalent vaccines and their potential benefits as well as generate an extensive network/collaboration with contacts in the world of poultry vaccines."
Portrait of Laura Oliveira

Dr Laura Oliveira

Project: Use of molecular epidemiology of bovine Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus agalactiae to guide vaccine development and improved control measures for contagious mastitis in Brazil

"This is a unique opportunity that will aid to overcome scientific limitations usually experienced by LMIC scientists when establishing a scientific career."
Portrait of Dr Tanja Smith

Dr Tanja Smith

Project: The production of plant produced Newcastle Disease virus like particles for poultry and other avian species

"This is an invaluable opportunity to further develop my technical skills, expand my knowledge, and interact with international scientists in my field of study."