DrAdela Ngwewondo

I am a Cameroonian and holder of a Ph.D in Biochemistry from the University of Buea. My Ph.D study resulted in the identification of a novel hit, lantadene A that efficiently kills microfilariae and adults of Onchocerca ochengi, given that there is no adult worm drug available. Such a hit would now need to be further assessed through the drug development pipeline to eventually result in a safe drug against Onchocerca spp adult worms, which are currently not susceptible to all available WHO-recommended drug regimens.

I work with the Centre of Medical Research of the Cameroon Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation. I have a leadership responsibility in developing and deploying strategies for disease control (drugs and diagnostics) in neglected tropical diseases. I lead my team in obtaining a grant funded by the African Research Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases to characterize potential antigenic biomarkers for the diagnosis of human onchocerciasis in the urine given that the gold standard (skin snip) is invasive. The outcome from this study will hopefully pave the way to rapid post surveillance studies in onchocerciasis elimination programs.

I also contributed in the fight against COVID19 by carrying out a study on the knowledge, attitudes and practices of/towards COVID 19 preventive measures alongside an online consultation platform where we could assess the number of people with COVID 19 symptoms and better manage the cases.