Watipenge has been awarded a four-year Wellcome Trust scholarship for a PhD in Hosts, Pathogens and Global Health at the University of Edinburgh. The scholarship also includes 9 months of extra funding upon completion of the PhD for extension of her work.

Working as an intern under the Clinical and Laboratory Malaria Group from 2019, implementing a project looking at the role of neutrophils in the development of cerebral malaria with Dr Christopher Moxon, Watipenge was inspired by this work and challenged by the burden of infectious diseases in Malawi. She applied and was successful for the Beit scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in immunology at the University of Glasgow in 2022. After completing the degree, she returned to the same group, and I have been working on trying to understand T cell and neutrophil interactions in cerebral malaria.

“MLW provided a conducive environment for me to develop as a researcher. I have acquired knowledge, laboratory skills and a range of research skills such as critical thinking, data analysis and presentation skills. I have also benefited from the network and collaborations that I have made through MLW. I am very thankful to Dr Christopher Moxon and Dr Charalampos Attipa for their immersed support and mentorship, and to Dr Kondwani Jambo for his guidance. Not forgetting my peers and fellow women in science who constantly challenged me and showed me that it is possible,” said Watipenge.

She is so delighted and excited about this opportunity and in her words, she said, “I will learn and enhance both my research skills and knowledge. I like this programme specifically because of its interdisciplinary training approach; it incorporates different fields of research such as molecular biology, immunology, and epidemiology. This will allow me to have a holistic understanding of biomedical research topics hence making me a better-equipped researcher”.

We are proud of you, Wati!!