London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Professor Amaya Bustinduy will share her inspiring journey as an academic paediatrician, driven by a deep commitment to tackling neglected diseases. She will reflect on the unique challenges and opportunities of bridging disciplines, age groups, countries, and cultures in her work. Through her experiences, Amaya will explore how creativity and the infusion of art into teaching and academia can spark innovation, deepen connections, and transform the way we approach global health.

In this inaugural lecture, Professor Amaya Bustinduy will share reflections on her career and the journey that brought her to this point. From her early days as an eager medical student in Sudan, discovering her fascination with children and parasitic diseases, to leading a multidisciplinary team at LSHTM of young promising scientists, her story highlights a career shaped by curiosity and dedication. She will discuss her work on tropical diseases in the Brazilian Amazon and polyparasitic diseases across Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, and Zambia. She will also reflect on how drawing from other disciplines has enhanced her research and expanded its impact.

Throughout the lecture, she will share personal stories about the collaborations and experiences that guided her choices and shaped her path. It’s an opportunity to gain insight into the challenges and progress in addressing neglected parasitic diseases and to hear a thoughtful account of a career driven by a passion for epidemiology and global health.

The lecture will take place from 17.15 - 18.15, followed by a 1-hour in-person drinks reception in the Pumphandle Social.

Speaker

Professor Amaya Bustinduy, LSHTM

Amaya trained in paediatrics and infectious diseases in the US and started working on helminthic infections, and their impact on child health in Coastal Kenya in 2009. She is foremost a field clinical epidemiologist and has investigated a broad range of disease manifestations in children and young women related to neglected tropical parasitic diseases (NTD), namely schistosomiasis and giardiasis. Other work has included profiling pro-inflammatory cytokines in schistosomiasis and drug (praziquantel) efficacy PK/PD studies in young children in Uganda and PK modelling in pregnant women with schistosomiasis in the Philippines. She is interested in community-based diagnosis of female genital schistosomiasis, validating diagnostic tools at the point-of-care and its integrations with cervical cancer, STIs and HIV diagnosis and access to care. Amaya heads the Schistosomiasis Clinical Research Group at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and works as a paediatric infectious diseases consultant in the UK National Health Service. She leads on field related studies in Uganda, Malawi and Zambia.

Event notices

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