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Fatou Joof is a Gambian biology researcher whose work explores new strategies to eradicate malaria. She aims to understand the evolutionary genetic race between humans and the malaria parasite. Her work is focused on studying the genetic mutation of red blood cells and how it can protect against malaria.
Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by female Anopheles mosquitoes. The disease-causing Plasmodium parasites are spread to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. As of 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported an estimated 241 million cases of malaria globally. Out of this, the estimated number of malaria deaths stood at 627 000 in 2020. For this reason, scientists and alternative medicine practitioners are engaged in finding better ways to manage the disease.
Fatou Joof notes that her passion for malaria research was born out of her personal experience. According to her, she caught a severe malaria when was three years old which almost took her life. From this experience, she decided to dedicate herself to fighting the disease to help save lives.
The WHO report further indicated that Africa carries the highest share of the global malaria burden. In 2020, for instance, the region was home to 95% of malaria cases and 96% of malaria deaths. Children under 5 accounted for about 80% of all malaria deaths in the Region. In the wake of this problem, African scientists like Fatou are making strides to help change the narrative.
In 2007, Fatou began her undergraduate studies in biology at Mohamed V University in Rabat in Morocco. After obtaining her bachelor’s degree in 2011, she returned to The Gambia where she joined the unit of the Medical Research Council as a scientific officer. In 2014, she obtained a master’s degree in molecular parasitology from the University of Manchester 2014. Fatou pursued her doctoral studies at the medical research council unit in The Gambia between 2017 and 2021. Her thesis was on the genetic mutations in red blood cells related to malaria.
Fatou Joof received the Young Talent Prize from the L’Oréal- UNESCO Foundation for Women and Science. The award was in recognition of her research and also provided financial support for the study.
REFERENCE
Information form www.africawomenexperts.com, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malaria, was used in this story
