Ambassador of the Month

Our November Ambassador of the Month is Postdoctoral researcher, Anthony. Anthony is a passionate immunologist who has been involved with the website by contributing a news article and presenting about Immunopaedia at the second largest teaching hospital in Ghana! Thank you for all the hard work Anthony.

Name: Anthony Afum-Adjei Awuah

Position: Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Research Institute: Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR), Kumasi, Ghana

Research interests: Immune responses and modulation to TB, Vaccinology and vaccine trials, Clinical trials

Select publications:

Lundtoft, C., Afum-Adjei Awuah, A., Rimpler, J., Harling, K., Nausch, N., Kohns, M., Adankwah, E., Lang, F., Olbrich, L., Mayatepek, E., Owusu-Dabo, E. and Jacobsen, M. (2017) ‘Aberrant plasma IL-7 and soluble IL-7 receptor levels indicate impaired T-cell response to IL-7 in human tuberculosis.’, PLoS pathogens. Edited by D. M. Lewinsohn, 13(6), p. e1006425. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006425.

Lundtoft, C., Awuah, A. A.-A., Nausch, N., Enimil, A., Mayatepek, E., Owusu-Dabo, E. and Jacobsen, M. (2017) ‘Alternative Quantiferon cytokines for diagnosis of children with active tuberculosis and HIV co-infection in Ghana.’, Medical microbiology and immunology, 206(3), pp. 259–265. doi: 10.1007/s00430-017-0501-6.

Afum-Adjei Awuah, A., Ueberberg, B., Owusu-Dabo, E., Frempong, M. and Jacobsen, M. (2014) ‘Dynamics of T-cell IFN-γ and miR-29a expression during active pulmonary tuberculosis’, International immunology, 26(10). doi: 10.1093/intimm/dxu068.

Why I love immunology: A few reasons make me fond of immunology. It served as a conduit for me to better understand infectious diseases. It was also the only thing that made sense to me because I was able to see the amount of effort the body puts in before succumbing to an infection. Despite the flaws, immunology is a constant reminder of ambition, consistency, focus and the “good fight”.

If I wasn’t an immunologist I would be: this is a hard one, maybe a teacher. I love to teach and I talk way too much.

Tips for young people who want to enter the field of immunology: Immunology makes sense from the very beginning. It is a useful tool for finding solutions and it will present an opportunity to build career. Learn your material, ask questions, keep discussing what makes sense and what doesn’t. Learn to collaborate and draw from the experience of others.

What being an Immunopaedia Ambassador means to me: It presents a unique opportunity to bring immunology to many. It allows me to draw from the superior systems available to teach immunology in such a simple way. Its not an abstract course and I am grateful that Immunopaedia makes it even better and easier to study for those from the developing world with limited tools.

How I have contributed to Immunopaedia so far: I have presented the course to faculty in the university, shared with students from our institute, course participants and colleagues. I hope to work with Immunopaedia soon to develop introductory course tailored for our curriculum here in Ghana to allow students to routinely take courses each year.

You can get in touch with me by: Email: afumadjeiawuah@kccr.de; kwameafumadjei@yahoo.com