On 10 March 2022, Malawi Liverpool Wellcome (MLW) staff members and other dignitaries convened at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHES) Sports Complex to celebrate the life of the research institution’s first Director Professor Malcolm Molyneux.
MLW’s Programme Director Stephen Gordon said Professor Malcolm Molyneux taught us three things – first, to aspire to excellence, second to laugh at ourselves and not take life too seriously, and thirdly, to enjoy the world.
During the memorial service, which was graced by over 400 people, Professor Stephen Gordon presented memorabilia containing condolence messages from MLW staff to Professor Malcolm Molyneux’s wife Elizabeth Molyneux.
During the ceremony, MLW’s Deputy Director Professor Henry Mwandumba said Professor Molyneux was the foundation of MLW and a mentor par excellence.
“Professor Molyneux trained a lot of people and served in the hospital. He is the founder of MLW, and he immensely contributed to health research by laying and shaping the foundation,” said Mwandumba.
In his eulogy, Professor of Immunology at Malawi University of Science and Technology Wilson Mandala, who was also one of Malcolm’s Ph.D. students, said Malcolm was ‘Mkupamame’ – a Chewa word which means one who wakes up early to remove dew and clear the path for other people.
Professor Malcolm Molyneux completed his Doctor of Medicine thesis on viral determinants of acute and chronic liver disease in Malawi. His main interest was general medicine and infectious diseases. His research mainly centred on severe malaria. Professor Malcolm Molyneux contributed to several clinical research activities and enhanced capacity building among clinicians and scientists in Africa and beyond.
Among other milestones, Professor Malcolm Molyneux was also the editor of ‘Tropical Doctor” Malawi Medical Journal’ and ‘Medical Quarterly’. He also served at well-known research and health bodies including Malaria Control Programme in Malawi, the World Health Organization, and GSK.
Professor Malcolm Molyneux passed in November 2021, and he is survived by a wife, four children, and 11 grandchildren.
