Our Team

She’s currently finalizing her PhD on surveillance of bacterial causes of febrile illness and resistance in The Gambia, and has published in reputable journals.

Saffiatou is the Manager of the Microbiology Laboratories, which are both ISO15189 accredited and GCLP certified labs. She is passionate about microbiology diagnostics capacity development and lectures Microbiology at the University of The Gambia.

diseases. She is currently the head of research within the Research Institute of the Centre of Expertise and Biological Diagnostic of Cameroon and double as a Marie-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at BforCure. She also serves as advisory member for the World Health Organization Foodborne Diseases Epidemiology Reference Group. Dr Founou is guided by the belief that every woman giving birth deserves the right to see her child grow and similarly, each child deserves the right to live and to have a healthy life. Reducing maternal and child mortality with appropriate prevention and containment measures are at the heart of her current research activities. She is the co-founder of African Women in Science (AWinS) an association empowering women, promoting equity and fighting discrimination of women in STEM careers.

Agriculture and Rural Development in Nigeria with over a decade of experience in field epidemiology, public health, research, and leadership, amongst others in government. Dr. Aworh is a UK-aid Fleming Fund Fellow, and her fellowship was on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Surveillance in Animal Health. She is the immediate past WOAH National Focal Point on Animal Welfare in Nigeria.

She received her DVM from the University of Ibadan, her Master of Public Health, and her Ph.D. in Veterinary Public Health & Preventive Medicine from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria. She is also a Fellow, of the College of Veterinary Surgeons, Nigeria – Public Health Specialty. In 2019, Dr. Mabel was a visiting scholar at North Carolina State University. Dr. Aworh is an alumna of the Nigeria Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program modelled after the CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service and has conducted research focused on One Health issues. She is a member of the Africa CDC AMR Technical Working Group. She contributed to Nigeria’s AMR situation analysis and National Action Plan for AMR, 2017-2022. Dr Aworh previously led Nigerian delegates to international Codex Committee meetings including the Codex intergovernmental task force on AMR and Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods.

Dr. Mabel is desirous of making a difference through research with the goal of improving global health by enhancing food safety and reducing the burden of AMR

I was a Researcher Assistant in Microbiology laboratory at InsMtut Pasteur de Dakar. My topics of
interest are infecMous, foodborne diseases in parMcular diarrheal diseases, anMmicrobial
resistance, malnutriMon, WASH management in poor countries as indicated in my publicaMons. I
defended my PhD in a study of linkage of intesMnal microbiota and diseases. I coordinated the
AGISAR project, the GHSA/AMR/One Health project, the WHO Tricycle project and wrote the
proposal of acMviMes for designaMon of InsMtut Pasteur de Dakar as a FAO InternaMonal Reference
Center on anMmicrobial resistance (AMR). I have more than 15 years of experience on AnMbioMc
resistance topic with extensive training in classical pathogen detecMon and new-generaMon
methods such as Maldi-Tof and whole genome sequencing (WGS). I have skills in laboratory
diagnosis having had to work in medical analysis laboratories since 2005 at InsMtut Pasteur de
Dakar and at the FederaMon of Laboratories of military Hospital Principal de Dakar where from
2012 to 2015, I worked as biologist. I have abiliMes required to write, manage research projects,
AMR assessment, or laboratory assessment which allowed me to be appointed by the FAO as an
external AMR assessor since 2018. In this case, I had to evaluate AMR laboratory surveillance
system for Senegal, DRC, Cameroon, Guinea Conakry etc. I piloted integrated AMR surveillance
and WASH projects and parMcipated in naMonal and internaMonal workshops on this topic.
I won in 2018 the African Young Researcher Awards funded by InsMtut Merieux. I contributed to
the implementaMon of Fleming Fund Country grant for laboratory training acMviMes carried out
by InsMtut Pasteur de Dakar in the consorMum. I was from 2019 to 2021 a Fleming Fund fellow on
AMR for Food Safety and Hygiene laboratory in InsMtut Pasteur de Dakar.

delineating the genetic correlates and epidemiology of HIVDR, as well as assessing the extent of antiretroviral therapy (ART) cross-resistance in individuals living with HIV who are undergoing specific ART regimens.

In recognition of her contributions to the field, Dr. Kouamou has been awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship through the African Postdoctoral Training Initiative (APTI). This fellowship is a collaborative effort involving the National Institute of Health (NIH, the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). As part of her postdoctoral research, Dr. Kouamou is currently investigating the latent HIV reservoir with a focus on advancing our understanding of HIV cure strategies. This research is being conducted at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), NIH, within the Laboratory of Immunoregulation, Clinical and Molecular Retrovirology Section.

she brings extensive experience in overseeing clinical trials, observational studies, and survey projects across multiple countries and sites. Binta is currently the Lead Data Manager for WANETAM and the Health Data Repository West Africa. Her proficiency extends to electronic data capture systems. Beyond her role, she is dedicated to mentoring and training the next generation, especially girls in technology. Actively engaged in organizations like GAMCHIX, African Women in Science, The Robotics Hub, and Striving for Jannah, Binta strives to support and advance women and girls in STEM fields while advocating for gender equity in the tech industry.