Dr. Stephen Tukwasibwe: Malaria molecular surveillance in refugee populations.

Patrick K. Tumwebaze: Investigating the Target and Resistance Mechanism of the Antimalarial drug Proguanil and Identification of Potent Antimalarial Therapeutic leads with Novel Modes of Action 

Dr. Stephen Tukwasibwe, is a molecular biologist with a PhD in immunogenetics. As a Junior Investigator at the Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration, Uganda (IDRC), he works with the IMMRSE study exploring immunity, drug and diagnostic resistance. He is developing a Genomics training program for Laboratory Technicians at the IDRC. He is a lecturer in the Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Uganda Christian University (UCU). Stephen has won several awards and fellowships including; the Junior Investigator Award at the MU-UCSF-LSHTM-IDRC Junior Investigators Research Symposium for a high ranking MSc project, thrasher early career award to study malaria drug and diagnostic resistance in refugees entering Uganda. Stephen leads a project titled, “the role of antimalarial antibodies in functional modulation of natural killer cell response to malaria” under the mentorship of Dr. Prasanna Jagannathan, Stanford University, USA and Prof. Philip J. Rosenthal, UCSF. Stephen is passionate about malaria research and hopes to develop a malaria research group at UCU.

Patrick K. Tumwebaze is a molecular parasitologist and second-year PhD candidate at Griffith University, where he is researching an anti-malarial drug, proguanil's mechanisms and resistance under Professor Kathy Andrews. With over 15 years in infectious disease research, Patrick previously managed the Molecular Parasitology Lab in Tororo, Uganda, at the Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration under the mentorship of Professor Philip Rosenthal, who now serves as his external supervisor. He has co-authored more than 30 publications, including in top journals like NEJM and PNAS, and continues collaborating with Professor Rosenthal to advance global malaria research.